How do you encourage hedgehogs in your garden.

They say hedgehogs like cat food, and you should leave a couple of gaps underneath any fencing so they can move around freely between gardens.Cute things aren’t they?

I believe hedgehogs like meat-based wet dog or cat food. It may visit your garden again though I doubt it would stay. I think they have a good shuffle through many many gardens and could pass through yours again. It's lovely to see them isnt it?

I’ve hedgehogs - love them!
I feed them every night with hedgehog pellets, which are chicken based and leave out water in the hot weather. Never feed them bread and milk!
I have a hedgehog house hidden at the back of the garden which they use as a base and to hibernate in during Winter. Gaps under my fence let’s them wander off, should they want to,

It’s really important to put out fresh water for them at the moment. My hedgehog doesn’t seem to like the hedgehog pellets so I’m going to buy some kitten kibble.

We have hedgehogs. I don’t feed them (I’m sure that there are enough slugs to keep them happy, and I’m scared of encouraging rats).
However, I’m really careful to make sure that they have always got water in shallow dishes

We have 3 hedgehogs. One is quite massive. We leave out special hedgehog food and we've had them in the garden for years

We bought a lovely little hibernation house which is used on a yearly basis for hibernation

Just love the little creatures 😍

How to encourage them? They're here most days and I don't feed them. There's a large dish of water on the ground (for the birds) that's changed daily - and I have gaps for them in the fences as they have a fairly large territory.

I saw one a couple of times last year. I think it’s back as my daft lab goes bananas, nose to the floor, following the same route as last year. Plus, my huge green leaf plant is no longer being eaten by slugs. I don’t put food out, I want the hog to eat slugs and, I don’t want rats.

Yes I have saved a lot in our area love them and always have. We live across the road from woods so there are plenty around here thankfully they are a common sight.

I would love to have them, but I think it is unlikely that they'll visit as the garden has walls rather than fences, so no possibility of making access holes. I have decking too, and am reluctant to encourage any rats. Although my garden is filled with plants and flowers, nearly all of them are in containers and many of the surrounding garden areas are concreted or made into garages, so I doubt if there is a hedgehog route nearby. Very jealous of those of you with regular HH visitors!

I've been feeding hedgehogs for decades and have never encountered a rat.

We have them, don’t feed them but there’s always fresh water out, so we don’t actively encourage them, they just come.

Apparently you shouldn’t give hedgehogs mealworms, I had thought that this was okay. Hopefully the blackbird had eaten them before the hedgehog appeared!

On our allotments the council have strimmed, as a few overgrown plots.
I’ve now seen two dead baby hogs, with strimmer type injuries.

People who use slug pellets perhaps ought to think twice as I’m sure that if the hogs eat the slugs it can’t do them much good.

As others have said gaps in fencing, wild areas, a cut down tree chopped and left in a pile, leave water out daily.
I’ve got a big old frying pan minus its handle, sturdy low and won’t tip.

A lady who runs a hedgehog rescue centre, told me that the hedgehogs really like Tesco chicken kitten biscuits…

We have some though I haven't seen them this year - only evidence in the form of poo around the grass! I'm pretty sure it's from hedgehogs - looks like the images I Googled. We've a big, semi-wild garden in a rural area so it's a good environment for them.
To encourage any kind of wildlife, leaving some "untidy" areas in a garden should help. Good excuse not to have a well manicured garden!

I’ve had varying numbers of hedgehogs visiting over the years. Sadly they never used the des res hog house I bought them. Despite trying it in 2 quiet areas of the garden with either hay or dry leaves for bedding. I live in hope and change the bedding now and again.
They eat fallen bird food but in the evening I put dry cat food
(Not fishy) and some bird nuts and dried mealworms in a covered bird ground feeder. If I don’t put it in the covered feeder my cat goes and eats it. I read that mealworms are ok for them in small quantities .

I'm so envious of those of you with hedgehog visitors. They are such wonderful creatures and sadly too many are lost each year to bonfires, strimmers and over enthusiastic tidy-upperers.

I'm sure hedgehogs are in the woods and surrounding areas to our garden, but unfortunately I can't leave even tiny gaps in our fence for them to come in. The whole fence has partly sunken concrete gravel boards and is fronted by beds and the tortoise often manages to get onto the beds even though they are slightly raised with sleepers. Even a hint of a gap and she would be digging her way out - tortoises are notorious climbers, diggers and escapers!!

We do get slow-worms though...

Thank you for your responses. I don't think I will put out food unless I see him(?) more regularly. He was very large I thought for a hedgehog and he moved fairly quickly. I suspect he probably has a good home somewhere near but I will keep an eye out for him.

We back onto woodland, I haven’t actively encouraged hedgehogs, they just appeared 😊 Our new fencing has hedgehog holes in two places, there’s an enormous compost heap that they can bury into and plenty of fallen branches too.
I make sure they have fresh water, they have plenty of slugs and snails 🐌 to munch!

It's very encouraging to learn how many GNetters have visiting hedgehogs. It is vital to leave a hole in fences or to dig a hole big enough for one to squeeze through as they can wander up to 2 miles a night. We also see them occasionally and my DD has mum and babies in her garden - which, by the way, is quite overgrown. We should definitely not be too tidy in our gardens.

I'm thrilled to say we have 'Mrs Tiggy-Winkle' as we call the visiting hedgehog in our garden.
She comes down to our back door. I leave out water and give her hedgehog pellets I buy from Tesco.
Watch for babies as I read they give birth during June and July.

Lovely picture Georgesgran.
We don't see hedgehogs every year but I think like you I'll buy a hedgehog house for hibernation. Do you put hay in it?

Our hedgehog last year - likes cat food!