Here are a few ways to attract hedgehogs to your garden:
They will eat dried or wet chicken cat food, crushed bird peanuts, sunflower hearts and raisins but don't give them bread
Leave out a bowl of fresh water, never milk
Don't use slug pellets and avoid using pesticides altogether as they are harmful to hedgehogs
Provide log piles, rotting leaves and flowers to encourage worms, beetles and caterpillars, which are part of a hedgehog diet
Make sure there are hedgehog-sized gaps (13cm should be sufficient) in your garden fence, so they can roam through - encourage neighbours to do the same as hedgehogs like to travel
Leave areas of grass uncut over winter and always check for hedgehogs when you cut grass or shrubbery
What to do if you find an injured hedgehog:
If you find a hedgehog you believe to be injured use gloves to pick it up and place it in a high sided cardboard box with a towel or fleece in the bottom for the hedgehog to hide under.
Fill a hot water bottle and wrap it in a towel and put it in the bottom of the box, ensuring the hedgehog has room to get off the bottle and making sure the bottle is kept warm. Put the box somewhere quiet.
As soon as possible, call the British Hedgehog Preservation Society on 01584 890 801 for further advice and the numbers of local hedgehog careers.
For more information, visit www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk
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