Hedgehog Hazards
Creating a hedgehog friendly garden
Please do all you can to make your garden and the area near where you live as safe as possible for hedgehogs.
Hedgehog friendly features include dense scrub and log piles for hibernation, leaf litter for nesting material, short grass for foraging and longer grass for summer nests. Minimise areas of hard standing or artificial grass in favour of plants and real grass. Chemicals should be avoided and organic management encouraged. Hedgerows should be trimmed in rotation with the top or one side being cut every three years during the winter when the berries/nuts are finished and no birds are nesting.
Learn more about hedgehog friendly garden design
Tips to keep Hedgehogs Safe
Litter
Don’t drop litter, please put it in a bin, hedgehogs get trapped in plastic bags, dustbin liners, crisp packets, 4 pack rings and polystyrene cups. Cut all the plastic 4 pack rings including the little ones in the middle these can trap all sorts of wildlife and the victim will be unable to free itself.
Poisons
Don’t use any garden chemicals. Blue slug pellets and weedkillers also kill hedgehogs, insecticides destroy their food supply. Rat poison will also kill them. Even lawn dressings have been reported to burn their feet. The photo is poo from a hedgehog which had eaten slug pellets, it died soon after passing this.
Strimmers and blades
Please check carefully before you use a strimmer, scythe or mower, take care with piles of sticks, bonfire heaps and well established brambles, if the area is overgrown, cut 2’ or 0.5 m above the ground first, then check for hedgehogs and then cut lower to the ground if you wish. We see some horrific injuries caused by cutting tools before every branchage, remember, these are just the hedgehogs which people have rescued, it does not take account of the ones killed outright or the others which have crawled away to die a slow and painful death. Many of the hedgehogs we see every year are put to sleep because their wounds are too severe to be treated.
download strimmer awareness leaflet
Ponds, pools and drains
Hedgehogs will fall into any steep sided hole, whether or not it is filled with water, so any type of open drain, trench or pit as well as steep sided ponds and swimming pools are all potential death traps. Please do all you can to avoid these fatalities by providing escape ramps or rafts and by covering drains.
Swimming pools are also very dangerous for hedgehogs, escape ramps made of rigid plastic mesh (not flimsy garden netting) can be trailed into the water and held in place with a block or heavy stone on the side of the pool.
Hedgehogs are very good swimmers and climbers, but get exhausted and drown if they cannot find a way out. Soft bubble wrap type pool covers can also be lethal as large hedgehogs get trapped underneath, however solid covers can save lives.
Even if you do rescue one alive, the pool chemicals may have damaged its lungs, so please phone us on 01534 734340 or contact your nearest hedgehog carer if you live outside the Island so it can be treated before being released again.
A garden pond attracts all sorts of creatures but if it has steep sides it can be a death trap for hedgehogs and other small animals. There should be a shallow shelf 5-6 cms deep to allow them to drink or get out of the pond. If you have a pond, please check that there is an escape route made with stones, rough pieces of wood or plastic coated wire netting. DON’T cover your pond with netting as this can trap hedgehogs.
Steep steps
Steep garden steps can also trap them and separate hoglets from their mother whose longer legs have let her continue on her way without them. A brick or block can make the step shallower and allow the hedgehog to climb up easily.
Netting
Don’t leave loose netting around on the ground, if it is in use in the garden, pull it taut and leave a gap of about 4” /10cm underneath for hedgehogs. Hedgehogs get caught in all sorts of nets, wire mesh and lobster pots. If you have a tennis or a badminton net or a football goal post, make sure the net is lifted off the ground at the end of play.
The finer the netting, the more damage it can cause. The more the hedgehog struggles to get free, the tighter it gets caught round him. Nets can cause really bad constriction injuries, cutting off the blood supply. The leg in the picture was saved by the vets with lengthy treatment.
Bonfires
Bonfires are also dangerous, they look like an inviting nest site, so please only set light to rubbish you have moved that day, don’t set fire to a pile of garden waste that has been there for even one night. The safest alternative is to use an incinerator. If you are involved in building a big fire for Bonfire Night please make sure there are escape tunnels provided.
Garden Tools
If you compost your waste, hedgehogs will also find the heap a lovely warm place to nest, so please take care when forking through. Please take care with all garden tools.
Sheds & Garages
Hedgehogs will wander into your shed or garage, if you leave the door open at night, this is no problem if you always leave the door open and do not mind them visiting, but if you sometimes shut it after dark and then leave it shut for several days, a hedgehog could be trapped inside and could die of thirst if not starvation. So please be consistent! Either always shut the door before dark or always leave it open for the hogs to come and go as they please!
Cars
With a maximum speed limit of 40mph in Jersey there should not be many hedgehogs killed on our roads, but sadly you will know that this is not so. Please take care.
Dogs
If you know that your dog likes to hunt for hedgehogs, please keep him on a lead or muzzle him after dark, some dogs can kill a hog with one shake of the head.
Hedgehogs & Construction Projects
Before the Build - Assume hedgehogs will be present Island wide, they roam far and wide looking for food and mates and have been found all over the Island. You will need to consider ways to protect hedgehogs during the build and incorporate hedgehog friendly features into the site once the work is completed.
Do not use netting to cover hedges to prevent birds nesting prior to site works, this also poses a serious risk to hedgehogs as they use hedgerows as corridors.
Preparing the Site -Caution is needed when clearing piles of deadwood, areas of long grass or dense vegetation. Please cut to knee height, check for hedgehogs or any other wildlife and then cut lower if required. Piles of brushwood should be left behind hedges or at the edges of the site to mitigate for the loss of nest sites.
These must not be set alight.
During the build - Hazards such as open holes, pits, drains and ponds should be covered or fitted with escape ramps of rough wood or wire netting. Trenches or ditches should be ramped at both ends to facilitate escape. If pipes are being laid, traffic cones placed in any open ends overnight will prevent an inquisitive hedgehog from getting trapped inside.
