Hedgehogs are one of Britain’s most beloved creatures, but heartbreakingly, they’re at risk of disappearing altogether. Experts warn that these spiky little wanderers could be extinct in the UK within the next decade if we don’t take urgent action. Habitat loss, busy roads, and fenced-in gardens are all making life a lot harder for them, but the good news? You can help.
Creating a hedgehog-friendly garden doesn’t mean letting things run wild (unless rewilding is your chosen garden trend). All it takes is a few simple tweaks – like leaving gaps in fences, providing safe hideaways, embracing all of your favourite cottage garden ideas, and ditching toxic pellets to get rid of slugs – to turn your outdoor space into a five-star retreat for these nocturnal foragers.
In return? Well, they’ll help keep pests at bay for free, making your garden healthier and more balanced. Win, win.
How to attract hedgehogs to your garden for free pest control
Much as you might be looking for ways to attract birds into your garden, so the same should be true of hedgehogs, especially as they are now classed as vulnerable to extinction in the UK.
"Recent monitoring has shown that hedgehogs are being pushed towards extinction with numbers in the wild dwindling by 30% over the last decade," says Matt Binstead, Head Keeper at the British Wildlife Centre.
"This alarming decline is backed by anecdotal evidence in conversations of people saying, 'I just don't see hedgehogs in the wild as much as I used to anymore' or 'I can't remember the last time I saw a hedgehog in the wild."
While it is easy to push this horrible thought from your mind, it's well worth doing your bit to stop this from happening. Even something as simple as learning how to attract hedgehogs to your garden could help them and help you in return, similar to when attracting birds that eat slugs for natural pest control.
"Hedgehogs are your garden's friend, travelling up to 2km a night helping to keep down unwanted pests in your garden, but with a fragmented habitat, it is so much more challenging for them," continues Matt.
So, how to attract hedgehogs to your garden and reap the benefits of their pest-heavy diet? Try the following...
1. Make a hedgehog highway
As mentioned already, hedgehogs roam far and wide at night looking for tasty bugs to snack on – but they won't get far with all of our fences in the way.
"If your garden is enclosed, a couple of small 5-inch holes (about the size and shape of a CD) along the boundary will allow hedgehogs to pass through and roam from garden to garden," says Matt, who advises you to get friendly with your neighbours to make this dream a reality.
2. Let things relax a little
If you want to suss out how to attract hedgehogs to your garden, you might like to try your hand at meadowscaping – or, at the very least, leave them some habitat.
"If you have a garden, hedgehogs can be a perfect excuse to leave it a little more untidy," says Matt. "Allow an area to be left uncut and grow wild, don't clear up all the fallen leaves in a few areas, plant a few wildflowers, and create a couple of log piles for them to forage around."
You might also like to research the best plants for privacy and start covering fences with hedging. As the name suggests, hedgehogs are very fond of snuffling through hedges.
3. Leave food and water out
Always seek expert advice when feeding wildlife in the garden. As per the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, you should offer hedgehogs either a good quality meaty hedgehog food, meaty cat or dog food, or the same dry biscuits you might feed a cat.
"It's also a good idea to leave a little bowl of water out," says Matt.
It's also a good idea to make all other water sources safe for hedgehogs; cover drains, for example, and pop a little wildlife ramp (or something like Amazon's Animal Escape Ramp) on your garden pond so hedgehogs can scramble to safety if they fall in by accident.
4. Buy (or make) a hedgehog house
Once you've attracted hedgehogs to your garden, you might want to create a nice little home for them.
"If you are lucky enough to know you have hedgehogs passing through your garden, then you might like to offer them a hedgehog house for an overnight stay," says Matt.
You can buy a hedgehog house and a hibernation Shelter or make your own. Be sure to include a 'tunnel entrance' to keep them safe from predators, and pop it in a sheltered spot (behind a shed would work a treat).
5. And always be hedgehog aware
Whether you're getting ready to mow a lawn, start strimming, or even fork over your compost heap, take care to check the whole area carefully first. After all, once you've learned how to attract hedgehogs to your garden, you want to keep them safe from harm.
The same is true of bonfires: make sure you wait to build yours just before it's time to light it, to prevent any hedgehogs falling asleep in them – or make like Monty Don and turn your fallen leaves into leaf mould instead.
FAQs
How do you attract a hedgehog to your garden?
The best and easiest way to attract a hedgehog to your garden is to relax your mowing schedule, pop a few hedgehog-sized holes in the bottom of your fence, and leave them somewhere to eat, drink, and sleep.
It's also best to ditch the slug pellets, as this means they'll have plenty of garden pests to chomp on while visiting.
What smells attract hedgehogs?
If you're wondering what smells attract hedgehogs, they're not all that different to us: they love the smell of food, whether that's insects, slugs and snails, or recommended foods.
They're also fond of all the wonderful smells of a garden, so be sure to fill yours with plenty of native fragrant garden plants and hedging and watch these little critters lose their hearts over your thriving outdoor space.
So much time is spent keeping animals out of the garden, from stopping foxes from coming into the garden to keeping rats out of the garden, it feels nice to encourage wildlife. Learning how to attract hedgehogs to your garden may take a little work, but it's well worth the effort.
"You will be rewarded with your hedgehog helping to keep down many of the garden pests, and the feeling of you helping one of Britain's most loved mammals!" promises Matt.
We can't say better than that.
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