Help hedgehogs
Want to help hedgehogs? With a few simple changes you can make your garden safer and more attractive for hedgehogs.
The Egelbescherming
Ever since 'our hedgehogs' arrived, the Egelbescherming website has helped us a lot. The Egelbescherming is a foundation dedicated to hedgehogs (and squirrels) through
- education
- emergency aid for animals
- developing safe sleeping houses and feeding spots
- research
- promoting biodiversity
We used the Egelbescherming website to figure out what our hedgehogs needed when we found them, to learn about the needs of our garden residents once they settled in with us, and to choose a good quality hedgehog house.
Want to support the fellow hedgehogs of 'our hedgehogs'? Read on the Egelbescherming website how to make your garden hedgehog-proof, what a hedgehog needs, how big the entrance to your garden should be (a square opening of 13 x 13 cm), and what requirements apply to a hedgehog house. Don't want 'your own' hedgehogs in your garden, or don't have a garden? You can of course always support hedgehogs financially via the Egelbescherming website.
A hedgehog in your own garden?
A hedgehog in the garden is usually good news. Hedgehogs are nocturnal and forage for food at night. In principle you don't need to do anything: give the hedgehog space and enjoy this special visitor from a distance.
If you see a hedgehog during the day, don't just pick it up. Young hedgehogs and mother hedgehogs can also be active during the day. Does the hedgehog look injured, sick, weakened, or in immediate danger? Then contact a hedgehog shelter or animal ambulance for advice first.
How to help hedgehogs in your garden
- Provide a passage to neighbouring gardens, for example with a square opening of about 13 x 13 centimetres in the fence. A round hole of 13 centimetres offers less room, which especially matters for a pregnant female.
- Leave a quiet corner with leaves, twigs, and other natural material as a shelter.
- Put out a shallow dish of fresh water. Never give milk.
- Optionally supplement with grain-free cat food, but also let hedgehogs find their natural food themselves as much as possible.
Pay extra attention to slug pellets, insect repellents, loose netting, litter, and steep water bowls or ponds. Also always check for hedgehogs before using a robot mower or edge trimmer; preferably use a robot mower during the day.
Read the full advice on the page Hedgehog in the garden from the Dierenbescherming.
