Hedgehogs

The overall national picture for hedgehogs is grim. The People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) suggest there are fewer than one million hedgehogs left in the British Isles, compared to two million 20 years ago and 30 million in the 1950s. Populations seem to be declining more in rural areas, but stabilising in urban and suburban areas, with gardens being particularly beneficial to hogs. This is great news for urban gardeners who want to help them.

And it seems that some 44 per cent of readers want to save hogs from extinction above all other species. Yet, while sightings of hedgehogs are slightly up, two per cent fewer readers see them regularly, compared to

2019. Despite this, more of you are doing your bit to help: 17 per cent have added a hedgehog house or cut access holes in fences to make a hedgehog highway (that’s up a little on last year). Plus, over half of you are willing to add a hedgehog house in future

Happily, two thirds of readers have done something to help hedgehogs in their gardens recently, with the most common actions including avoiding using slug pellets, creating habitat piles, checking grass before strimming, and growing native plants (which provide hedgehogs with more caterpillars to eat). There’s room for improvement in other areas, however, and just 16 per cent of readers leave out food for hogs. This could be due to most people thinking hedgehogs eat slugs and snails, of which there are plenty in our gardens. But slugs and snails actually make up a small part of a hedgehog’s diet, with caterpillars and beetles being more nutritious.

DO YOUR BIT With caterpillars and beetles in decline, a dish of extra food, with some water, can be a lifeline. Put out meaty dog or cat food, or cat biscuits.