Hedgehogs in the winter garden

Blog post by Helen Baczkowska on 05 Feb, 2019
Gardeners often love hedgehogs, because they can help keep garden pests under control and of course, we all love seeing them bumbling around the garden at night!

In winter, hedgehogs should be tucked up asleep in their lovely snug nests of leaves and dry grass – however, even a winter garden can hold perils for them and the following tips will help make our gardens a bit more hedgehog friendly.

Bonfires – use a metal incinerator or move the pile to be burnt just before setting fire to it. This should ensure that a hedgehog hasn’t tried to hibernate in the heap. Don’t burn or trim pampas grass until you are sure there is not a hedgehog tucked into the base!

Ponds – if you are installing a new pond, or even if you have one already, check there is a ramp or gentle slope for hedgehogs to escape on – a few bricks would do the job. Children’s sandpits that fill with rainwater can also be a hedgehog trap, so cover them well or ensure there is an escape route.

Fences – fences can blow down in winter gales and make sure that if you repair or replace them you leave a hole for hedgehogs to travel through. Gardens are a wonderful habitat for hedgehogs, but they need to be able to travel between our gardens to find food and a mate. A hole the size of a CD should do the trick. Use environmentally safe wood preservative on all fences and sheds.

Compost heaps, wild patches, sheds, hedges and winter tidy-ups – hedgehogs might well be trying to hibernate in long, overgrown areas, the bottom of hedges, underneath sheds or compost heaps. If you are tidying up over winter or dismantling an old shed, check for hedgehogs first and if possible, leave these jobs until the weather warms up and the hogs are out of hibernation. Strimmers mutilate hedgehogs – so check well before you strim!

Check compost heaps before you stick a fork in and if you find a hibernating hog, leave the area well alone until the spring, when they will be on the move again. If the hibernating hog wakes up, leave some food (non-fishy cat biscuits, never bread and milk) out until it can find a new place to go back to sleep.

If you have hedgehogs in your garden, you can help them hibernate by leaving a pile of leaves and small sticks in a quiet corner of the garden or put a hedgehog home in the base of a hedge to help them to hibernate in a safe place in a future.
Share this

Latest Blog Posts

Volunteer Spotlight: Poppy Bye Volunteer Spotlight: Poppy Bye
by Poppy Bye on 12 Mar, 2024
Last of the winter jobs on our reserves Last of the winter jobs on ...
by Robert Morgan, NWT Reserves Officer on 29 Feb, 2024
Hamza Yassin: Life Behind The Lens Hamza Yassin: Life Behind T...
by Oscar Lawrence on 27 Feb, 2024
Is the humble toad the real harbinger of spring?  Is the humble toad the real...
by Robert Morgan on 20 Feb, 2024
NWT employs stubborn old goats NWT employs stubborn old goats
by Robert Morgan on 20 Feb, 2024
Short-eared owls: their magic and majesty Short-eared owls: their mag...
by Oscar Lawrence on 12 Feb, 2024
Volunteer Spotlight: Tim Suiter Volunteer Spotlight: Tim Su...
by Tim Suiter on 05 Feb, 2024
Some old-fashioned care is needed in the winter Some old-fashioned care is ...
by Robert Morgan, NWT Reserves Officer on 02 Feb, 2024
Could a once abundant Norfolk fish become extinct?   Could a once abundant Norfo...
by Robert Morgan on 23 Jan, 2024
Wild is the wind Wild is the wind
by Robert Morgan on 23 Jan, 2024
Waxwing Winter Waxwing Winter
by Oscar Lawrence on 17 Jan, 2024
Volunteer Spotlight: Tricia Dolamore Volunteer Spotlight: Tricia...
by Tricia on 10 Jan, 2024
January on our reserves January on our reserves
by NWT on 04 Jan, 2024
Robin Redbreast Robin Redbreast
by Oscar Lawrence on 19 Dec, 2023
A Christmas Wish for Nature A Christmas Wish for Nature
by Robert Morgan on 18 Dec, 2023
November on our reserves November on our reserves
by Robert Morgan, NWT Reserves Assistant on 07 Dec, 2023
Our vision for Hickling Broad Our vision for Hickling Broad
by Eliot Lyne, NWT CEO on 07 Dec, 2023
Winter wildlife on the North Norfolk coast Winter wildlife on the Nort...
by Robert Morgan on 05 Dec, 2023
Meander through the meadow - Sweet Briar Marshes guided walk Meander through the meadow ...
by Oscar Lawrence on 29 Nov, 2023
Kites and eagles: the falsely accused Kites and eagles: the false...
by Oscar Lawrence on 20 Nov, 2023
Nurturing nature with love Nurturing nature with love
by Nick Acheson on 14 Nov, 2023
Foray into fungi Foray into fungi
by Robert Morgan on 07 Nov, 2023
October on our reserves October on our reserves
by NWT on 01 Nov, 2023
Volunteer Spotlight: John Coadwell Volunteer Spotlight: John C...
by John Coadwell on 31 Oct, 2023