Gransnet forums

Gardening

How do you encourage hedgehogs in your garden.

(39 Posts)
midgey Sat 08-Jul-23 10:28:26

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

Jaxjacky Sat 08-Jul-23 10:21:39

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

Louella12 Sat 08-Jul-23 10:17:53

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

choughdancer Sat 08-Jul-23 10:10:53

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!

Redhead56 Sat 08-Jul-23 08:57:51

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.

Iam64 Sat 08-Jul-23 07:50:00

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.

Hetty58 Sat 08-Jul-23 07:39:44

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.

Louella12 Sat 08-Jul-23 07:24:59

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 😍

FannyCornforth Sat 08-Jul-23 06:29:37

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

MayBee70 Sat 08-Jul-23 04:43:22

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.

Georgesgran Sat 08-Jul-23 03:30:30

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,

Sweetpeasue Fri 07-Jul-23 23:10:49

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?

Oreo Fri 07-Jul-23 23:09:18

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?

Grayling1 Fri 07-Jul-23 23:01:21

Been in this house 11 yrs and really enjoy my garden. I don't have any grass so mainly ground cover and lots of pots. I went out a few minutes ago to spray my hosta posts with garlic (it works!!) and heard a shuffling. Thought it was one of the many cats who visit but it was quite a large hedgehog which shuffled away very quickly. I didn't really get a chance to see where it went but wondering if I put down some food would it stay with us?