The trouble is, our tidy habits and fenced plots can be minefields for a small, snuffling mammal. This autumn is a chance to change that, one back garden at a time.
The first time I heard it, I thought it was the cat. A soft rustle in the damp, a wet nose working through leaves by the compost bin, the beam of my neighbour’s torch catching the coppery flicker of spines. He crouched, I held my breath, and the street’s glow faded to a hush as the hedgehog nosed past a dropped conker and vanished beneath the rosemary, as calm as a commuter who knew the shortcuts home. **It wasn’t alone.**
Why hedgehogs are wandering back this autumn
Autumn is hedgehog rush hour. They’re bulking up before hibernation, roaming at dusk, threading the gaps between sheds and fence panels like commuters switching lines. If you’ve spotted more lately, you’re not imagining it.
Across towns and villages, people are reporting hedgehogs again, especially where gardens link up. Rural numbers have crashed over two decades, yet suburban hedgehogs are holding on, even nudging up where neighbourhoods create easy corridors. The difference isn’t luck — it’s connectivity.
Why the turn? Warmer autumns keep insects active a touch longer, while changes at home help more. The old blue slug pellets laced with metaldehyde are off the shelves outdoors across Great Britain, reducing an invisible hazard in the food chain. Small holes in fences, log piles, and water within reach add up to a map hedgehogs can read at nose level.
Practical steps to turn your garden into a haven
Start with a “hedgehog highway”: cut a 13cm x 13cm square at the base of your fence to connect with next door. Put out a shallow dish of fresh water and a small plate of meaty cat or dog food, especially on cold, clear nights. **A single hole and a dish of water can be the difference between a wanderer and a survivor.**
Think low-tech. Leave a quiet corner messy on purpose with leaves, sticks, and a hollow under a shrub for shelter. Let your lawn edge grow a fringe so beetles and worms stick around, and weigh down netting or raise it 20cm off the ground so legs don’t snag. Let’s be honest: nobody actually does that every day.
Before strimming, sweep your boot around the base of hedges and compost heaps; hedgehogs curl up tight and hope you’ll miss them. Check the bonfire on the day you light it and rebuild it fresh if you can, because leaf heaps built over days are five-star hotels for spiky guests.
“Give them a hole, some water, and a quiet corner, and the hedgehogs will do the rest,” says a Wiltshire carer who has overwintered more than a hundred.
- Hedgehog highway: one 13cm x 13cm hole under each boundary
- Night pantry: meaty cat/dog food (not fish), fresh water only
- Safe shelter: log pile, leaf pile, or a wooden hedgehog house
- Bonfire check: move the pile on the day you light it
- Pond escape: a rough ramp or shallow beach for easy exits
A season to care, a chance to notice
We’ve all had that moment when a small, quiet creature cuts through the noise of a day, and something inside you softens. You do a tiny thing — a hole in a fence, a dish of water — and the garden changes character, like a room when someone opens the window. **Care travels, hedge by hedge, until a whole street feels different.**
Your patch doesn’t need to be grand. It needs to be readable to a nose and low to the ground, the kind of place where a beetle has time to beetle and a hedgehog can shuffle without bumping into a wall of wood and wire. Small acts, repeated across a neighbourhood, are how wild things come back.
If this autumn is darker and wetter at your end of town, the visit might still happen. You’ll hear it before you see it, a neat snuffle and a pause, as if the night itself were testing the air. Build them a way through, and the night will remember.
| Point clé | Détail | Intérêt pour le lecteur |
|---|---|---|
| Hedgehog highways | 13cm x 13cm gaps at ground level along shared fences | Turns isolated gardens into a connected route for wildlife |
| Food and water | Meaty cat/dog food, shallow water dish, no milk | Gives hedgehogs safe calories to reach hibernation weight |
| Safe spaces | Leaf/log piles, hedgehog houses, checked bonfires and ponds | Reduces avoidable injuries and offers shelter from cold |
FAQ :
- What should I feed visiting hedgehogs?Offer meaty cat or dog food (not fish flavours) and a shallow dish of water. Skip milk and bread, which cause stomach upsets.
- How heavy should a hedgehog be before hibernation?Ideally 600g or more by late autumn. If you find one under about 450g after October, especially in daylight, contact a local rescuer for advice.
- Are slug pellets still a risk?Metaldehyde pellets are no longer permitted outdoors in Great Britain, which helps a lot. If you need control, use ferric phosphate pellets sparingly and focus on habitat balance.
- What about ponds and dogs?Give ponds a rough ramp or a brick step to climb out, and supervise dogs in the garden at night. A calm recall and lights on can prevent panic encounters.
- Do hedgehogs carry fleas or ticks that affect pets?Hedgehog fleas are species-specific and rarely transfer to cats or dogs. Ticks are common on hedgehogs; heavy infestations need a carer, so don’t pick them off unless trained.
Brilliant guide! Just cut a 13cm x 13cm slot in our fence and added a shallow water dish—instant hedgehog highway. Love the pond ramp tip too; never thought of that. Our kids are on night watch now 🙂 Thanks for making this so do‑able! 😀