Photo: Alamy/PA.
food will do the job,” advises Moorhouse.
Vass urges gardeners to give hedgehogs the best start as they come out of hibernation by putting out food and water to help build up their fat reserves, which will give them a better chance of surviving any period of famine.
“If we have another scorching summer, they will be very thirsty and you have to think, where are they going to get water from?” asks Moorhouse.
“If they’re in urban areas it’s basically garden ponds, and if there aren’t any of those around, they are in trouble. So leave out a dog bowl of water and check regularly to make sure it’s being drained.”
Help give them shelter
“Leave an area scruffy because that will be filled with all the invertebrates they’re going to eat – and they can also hide in it,” Moorhouse advises.
Vass says leaving log piles in the garden will give hedgehogs natural shelter and food, as invertebrates may also inhabit the space.
“Hedgehogs are ending up much more of an urban species than they ever were,” Moorhouse explains.“They seem to be declining slower in urban areas than in rural areas, but they are still declining in urban areas due to urban intensification – so every time you put in a new fence, or a new house is built on what was scrubland, or you strim down weeds or put in decking, it crowds out space for nature. “Make sure they can get into your garden.You may have the best garden on the planet for a hedgehog, but if they can’t get into it, it’s not worth anything.Talk to your neighbours, ask if they’d mind if you cut a CD case-sized hole in your fence, and you’re opening up the garden for hedgehogs.”
Ghosts In The Hedgerow:A Hedgehog Whodunnit by Tom Moorhouse is published by Doubleday, priced £16.99. Available now.
mccarthyholden.co.uk | 59
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker