Gardeners urged to act now for hedgehogs: the 3p garden trick you should try this evening

Gardeners are being urged to act now — the tiny, cheap move you make this evening could be the difference between a thirsty hedgehog and a thriving one.

The first thing you notice, if you’re lucky, is the whisper. Grass parting like someone brushing a sleeve along the border. It was one of those cooler late-summer evenings when the patio still held a little heat, and a neighbour’s radio hummed through the hedge. A prickle of movement, then a pause, as if the garden itself was holding its breath. I put my phone down. The garden felt suddenly like a stage and I was backstage crew, moving quietly to set a prop in place. I left a shallow saucer by the herb bed, then sat back to listen. A minute later came the soft snuffle and the tiny, deliberate lapping that sounds exactly like hope in miniature. Here’s the twist.

The quiet crisis at the bottom of your garden

Hedgehogs are turning up hungry and dehydrated in British gardens because we’ve made the wild a bit too neat. Close-boarded fences stop them roaming, hard landscaping bakes dry, and the invertebrates they feed on have fewer damp places to hide. You can’t fix climate or planning rules tonight. You can set out water and a few bites. Tonight is the right night to start.

On my road, the first hedgehog sighting of the year is passed hand to hand like a rumour. “By the bins, about ten,” someone texts, then another neighbour spots a second under the roses. The years when no one texts at all feel colder. Surveys from garden groups suggest urban hedgehog numbers have steadied in places with linked gardens and friendly routines. One street pops a fist-sized hole in each fence panel and suddenly the night patrol has a route again.

Why does such a small act matter? A hedgehog may roam a mile in a night, sipping from puddles and hunting for beetles. Heatwaves scorch puddles to nothing, and slug pellets poison the buffet. A shallow dish of clean water at ground level is a literal lifeline. Add a palmful of high-protein bites and you’re bridging an energy gap that can decide whether a young hog makes it to autumn weight. Marginal gains, multiplied by streets, become a safety net.

The 3p evening trick: water and bites, placed with care

Here’s the 3p trick to try before nightfall: set out a shallow dish of fresh water and around ten grams of plain dry cat biscuits. That tiny portion costs roughly three pence at supermarket prices and it punches well above its weight. Put the saucer where a hedgehog naturally moves — along a fence line, under low cover, away from bright lights. Refresh the water, and keep the food modest. Think help, not a buffet.

Common pitfalls are easy to dodge. Skip milk entirely — it upsets hedgehogs’ stomachs. Go for meaty, not fish-heavy biscuits, and avoid mealworms as a main course. Place the dish where cats can’t camp out, perhaps under an upturned crate with a fist-sized entrance. Rinse bowls every day or two; a quick swill is fine. Let’s be honest: nobody does that every day. Do it most days and you’ll still shift the dial.

Start small and keep it regular. The pattern matters more than the props.

“Water first, then access, then a little food. If you can manage that most evenings, you’re in the hedgehog business.”

If you want to stack the odds, add one or two of these micro-habitat tweaks:

• Cut a 13cm x 13cm “hedgehog highway” hole at the base of your fence to connect gardens.
• Create a rough corner with leaves, twigs and a broken pot for shelter and beetles.
• Float a small ramp or brick in your pond so wildlife can climb out.
• Swap slug pellets for beer traps or hand-picking after rain.
• Leave a short “wild strip” that stays a little messy and damp.

What happens in the hour after sunset

The night belongs to hedgehogs, foxes, moths and all the shy things that stitch a neighbourhood together. We’ve all had that moment when the garden seems to breathe again after the day has gone, and you realise your patch touches a hundred others. Keep that thought. Text a neighbour, share a photo, ask if they’ll pop a highway hole through their fence. **Small gestures travel fast when you treat them like stories to pass on.**

FAQ :

• What exactly is the “3p trick”?It’s the habit of putting out a shallow dish of fresh water and around ten grams of plain, meaty dry cat biscuits at dusk — a portion that works out at roughly three pence — to help passing hedgehogs hydrate and refuel.
• Is it safe to feed hedgehogs every night?Yes in modest amounts. Think of it as a top-up, not a full meal. Keep portions small so they still forage naturally, and keep water available as often as you can.
• What food should I avoid?Avoid milk, bread, salted foods, fish-heavy recipes, and mealworms as a staple. Stick to meaty cat/dog food (wet or dry) and fresh water.
• How big should a hedgehog highway be?Cut a 13cm by 13cm square at the base of a fence panel. That size suits hedgehogs while discouraging larger animals.
• Won’t cats eat the biscuits?They might try. Tuck the dish under low cover, or use a simple feeding tunnel (an upturned crate or long box with a fist-sized entrance) to make it hedgehog-friendly and cat-unappealing.