Our gardens can be a vital resource for hedgehogs, but today they often lack the natural shelter, resources and safe access between spaces to thrive.

There are plenty of simple things you can do to make yours a haven for these spiny visitors this spring, however, and our readers have lots of insight to share.

From tips on setting up feeding stations and houses to making your own and creating hedgehog highways – a small hole in a fence or other barriers for hedgehogs to pass through, connecting them to other green spaces – here’s advice that has actually worked in gardens up and down the country.

How to get started

If you’re not sure where to begin, the good news is that small, simple changes make a real difference.

Having noticed hedgehog droppings in their garden, Peter Cobbe and his wife, Shirley, from Kent, set up a hedgehog house and a protected feeding station last year. “It was an interesting exercise in ‘build it and they will come’,” he says.

After spending time reading about the lifecycle of hedgehogs and their needs, the couple made their garden more accessible by providing safe nesting material, removing hazards and cutting a 13cm square gap in their wooden gate.

“We have a large green and hedge area opposite our house with lots of trees,” explains Cobbe, which is attractive to these creatures who travel a mile or more every night.

Creating hedgehog highways lets them roam more freely, to find enough food and a mate.

It is important not to disturb hedgehogs, so Cobbe installed a Ring Wi-Fi camera to capture his spiky visitors, costing around £50. You could try a specialised wildlife camera, which tend to be camouflaged, weather-proof designs. 

“Last year, we were delighted to see two lots of young born when they emerged following their mother. We have seen lots of mating behaviour this year and expect more young in June or July.”

Another reader, E. Lewis says compost heaps are an easy way to attract hedgehogs in your garden. “I had one in the back corner, where they made a nest and bred. We’d occasionally see juveniles too. There’s little-to-no maintenance and it’s very nice to see them,” he says. Just remember to be careful and check for hedgehogs when turning the compost heaps with your fork.

When you’re setting up your garden for hedgehog visitors, Neil Plevey, from Norfolk, says to first “find out where the local hedgehog rescue is and get a contact number”. Plevey has built his own feeders and nest boxes with a baffle wall, making it harder for larger animals to enter. He uses Blink cameras to monitor the hedgehogs as “they are easy to set up and reasonably inexpensive, especially when Amazon has offers on”.

“We have spotted a number of health issues because of our cameras, including a bad cut behind an ear, a chunk of skin and prickles missing from back, one missing most of its right front foot, a cough and another that was undersized for late autumn. All have had the care of our local ‘hedgehog lady’ and returned rehabilitated,” Plevey recalls.

It doesn’t always work out, however, as Lesley Snell explains: “We have a large garden and I am a keen gardener. Plenty of fodder for a hedgehog, I thought.

“I was vetted by hedgehog rescue, installed a hedgehog house, then he arrived and promptly abandoned me for the gorse thickets on the golf course behind the garden. There’s gratitude for you.”

Finding the right placement

Many of our readers are experienced hedgehog helpers and have installed permanent homes for these animals in their gardens, complete with wildlife cameras to capture their nightly activities. As such, they have many tips for finding the right placement in your garden, as well as how to maintain them.

Deirdre Snook, 66, from Shropshire, has had hedgehogs visiting her garden for the last 17 years. “It is the small, consistent things that help them out,” she says. She has a wooden hedgehog house near her front door, which she uses to feed them in.

“We top up the feeding bowl with hedgehog or meaty kitten cubes and provide a shallow bowl of fresh water, which is essential to their wellbeing, as water is not readily available to them.”

To offer access to her back garden, she has cut a “CD size hole” into her side gate. “They are often seen and heard on the lawn at night, especially in mating season when they are very noisy,” she says.

A Go-Trail camera means Snook can track the hedgehogs’ nightly habits. “It is fascinating to see how often they stop by at night. At present, we have a rather tubby one that fills the house entrance and two smaller ones.”

Another reader, Clare Goodyear, 52, from East Sussex, recommends considering your pets’ behaviour, too. “The cat used it as a post for watching the birds until I moved it in autumn to a space behind the shed next to the hedge,” she explains. “I covered it in straw and leaves and put some straw inside. The hedgehog moved most of it inside the house.”

According to her wildlife camera, two hedgehogs visit her garden. “It’s a joy to see their comings and goings throughout the night.”

Alison Pearce, 63, from Winchester, has several access points, as her property borders onto open fields and farmland with no busy roads nearby. “The hedgehogs typically enter my property from three places,” she explains, either squeezing under gates or fences. One of her neighbours has several hedgehog houses: “We speculate that they come to me for dessert.

“Once inside my back garden, there is a wildlife corridor of undergrowth that provides cover for the hedgehog as it approaches the feeding station,” she says.

Pearce uses a small, plastic animal igloo for her feeding station, which are available from most pet shops. “At shape-shifting time, the hedgehogs will come. You’ll hear them crunching the food and grunting at each other, surprisingly noisily, in the undergrowth.”

Build your own

Others have had great success creating homemade hedgehog shelters on a budget. Jayne Fletcher-Tomlinson bought a cat igloo as a shelter for her cat, Lily, who often refuses to come inside when it rains. Unfortunately, Lily never used it, but it was adopted by a family of hedgehogs who return yearly.

“Lily has in turn adopted the role of guard and sits outside the box watching over them. This year we had hoglets, which we were thrilled about,” she adds.

Not being the “tidiest of gardeners” plays into Fletcher-Tomlinson’s favour, as it helps an array of wildlife to thrive, including hedgehogs. “The igloo is deep under bushes, which we’ve allowed to grow over and largely they deal with their own bedding. I’ve always believed that to be the best way, although I might add a few nice bits of dried grass or hay in there.”

Apart from the loud snuffles, Fletcher-Tomlinson always knows when the hedgehogs are around as Lily sits nearby. “They are quite private, little creatures and we never try to handle them. I just enjoy a privileged glimpse when they come to eat on the porch.”

Fletcher-Tomlinson urges other people to help the hedgehogs in their gardens: “I’m lucky to live in a rural market town but even in more urban areas, hedgehogs need refuges.”

To make your own hedgehog feeding station, all you need is a plastic storage box with an entrance hole cut in the side, according to Roger Bower, 60, from Norwich.

Although he’s had some trouble with rats, his dogs and the neighbour’s cat in the past, it’s simple to install and maintain. “If the food has gone and there is poo in the water bowl or food bowl, then it’s definitely hedgehogs,” he explains.

What to feed hedgehogs – and what to avoid

Putting out food can be a lifeline for hedgehogs, particularly in urban areas where natural sources are scarce. Firstly, when setting up a feeding station, Ruth Ibbotson, 76, from Surrey recommends restricting the entrance to deter cats, dogs and badgers.

“I only put food in, not water, as hedgehogs are a bit clumsy, putting their feet in or upsetting the container, which can make a mess inside the box.” A heavy-based, shallow dish works perfectly for water, but “you must not put out milk as it makes hedgehogs ill,” she explains.

“Hedgehogs can leave their poo in the feeding station and around the garden, so I clean that up regularly.” Cleaning the bowls and feeding station daily limits the spread of disease.

Setting up a Bushnell camera outside the feeding station has allowed Ibbotson to track the spiny creatures in her garden. Last year, she had up to six different hedgehogs visit every day from May to September. This year they arrived in March. “It gives me a lot of pleasure looking at the photos each morning,” she says.

Julia Stephenson, 59, from Roehampton, London has set up her own campaign to protect the hedgehogs in her local area. “It often results in me rushing out early in the morning in my dressing gown to fight off the men with the strimmers.

“Hedgehogs are now in danger of extinction, so it is absolutely vital that householders supplement their diet with cat or dog food and water.” Choose food with a high meat content, but “ignore expensive hedgehog food, which is usually unregulated rubbish,” she says.

Stephenson recommends connecting with your local hedgehog rescue centre for advice. “I have learnt everything I know from Pauly who runs the award winning Hedgehog Cabin,” where they rehabilitate sick, injured or orphaned hedgehogs, with useful findings shared online.