Hedgehogs are highly active in UK gardens during summer, and wildlife expert Sir David Attenborough has shared a simple method to help them visit your garden by placing a key item outdoors.
According to him, all it takes is adding one key item to your fence. And that's not the only thing that can encourage hedgehogs to pay you a visit, either.
What did David say?
David acknowledges that hedgehogs can be 'rare' these days, describing them as 'charming' but 'not very social' creatures. He added: 'Nonetheless, urban areas are the one place where their numbers have stabilised and, with a little help from us, there's hope that they might even increase.'
David continued: 'Hedgehogs can eat up to a 100g of food in a night, and that can take quite a lot of collecting. But this one has hit the jackpot. Every evening, the owner of this garden provides a feast for them. Tonight he's searching for a mate, and he'll need all the energy he can find.'
'I think they're lovely things. London has more gardens per square mile than any other capital city but, all too often, there's no way between them. The mission for a mate has hit a dead end, or has it? All across London, garden owners are putting holes in their fences, creating hedgehog highways that allow safe travel from garden to garden.'
Does it attract them?
You may not realise it, but adding these small openings to fences can both welcome hedgehogs in and help protect them. You could be supporting these creatures in more ways than you might think.
By linking your garden to nearby green spaces, hedgehogs can access vital food sources such as slugs, snails and beetles tucked away in your flowerbeds. Some experts suggest that creating these passages can boost sighting chances by roughly 40%.
These highways make it far easier for hedgehogs to move between properties, offering a crucial boost to the wider hedgehog population. And it's remarkably straightforward to implement.
Creating a passage is quite simple — just remove a brick from a wall or cut a CD-case-sized opening (approximately 13cm x 13cm) at the base of your wooden fence panels or wire mesh. That's all it takes, and you can even purchase little decorative signs to mark them.
However, it's even more effective if you can get your neighbours on board as well. The more adjoining gardens that are linked, the greater the area hedgehogs can roam to feed and reproduce.
It's worth attempting to create pathways on all sides of your garden if possible. This will provide them with far better access and help keep them safe from danger.
