Hedgehog leaflet 2018 v1

Hedgehogs need your help Jo

Plea s help e

i

Although alarm bells are ringing for Suffolk’s hedgehogs, a concerted effort now could help turn around their fortunes in the county. Hedgehogs breed slowly, so it will take years for populations to recover, but Suffolk Wildlife Trust can make a long-term commitment to hedgehogs because of the support and enthusiasm of our members.

Suff n Wild olk li Trus fe t

Is your garden

hedgehog friendly?

Help Suffolk Wildlife Trust stand up for hedgehogs  Make your garden hedgehog friendly and log it on our online map  Survey your garden or neighbourhood for hedgehog activity

Act for Suffolk’s hedgehogs by making your garden and neighbourhood hedgehog friendly

Join u s PIXABAY

 Make a small hole in your fence and leave wild areas in your garden  Log your hedgehog friendly garden and hedgehog sightings online

Ali North Hedgehog Officer

suffolkwildlifetrust.org 01473 890089

suffolkwildlifetrust.org 01473 890089 Registered charity no 262777

KLEIN & HUBERT NATUREPL.COM

 Add your voice to ours by joining Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

MARCH 2017

Please help

JOHN FERGUSON

 Spread the word and become a hedgehog champion

Suffolk’s hedgehogs face an uncertain future The UK-wide decline of hedgehogs has been well documented by People’s Trust for Endangered Species and British Hedgehog Preservation Society. It is thought their numbers have reduced by up to a third in urban areas and over half in rural areas, since the year 2000.

Research carried out by The Wildlife Trusts revealed that 40% of children have never seen a hedgehog in the wild and results from our Suffolk research confirmed that fewer people are reporting hedgehogs in areas where they were once common.

With your help we can bring back hedgehogs to our towns and countryside

Their decline is likely the result of a range of factors, not least the loss of suitable places for them to nest and feed. This means our gardens are becoming increasingly important refuges for hedgehogs.

Small changes make all the difference

Ground level fence holes (Hedgehog Highways) ensure access to gardens or green spaces and wild areas (log piles, wild flower areas, long grass) provide crucial feeding and nesting habitat. Why not join our network of hedgehog champions and encourage your friends and neighbours to go hedgehog friendly in their garden?

Te ll u s wh at y ou ’vgee h og s d on e to h e lp h ed in y ou r g a rd e n

Report your ‘hog’ sightings and hedgehog friendly gardens on our online map.

rg .o t s u r t fe li d il w lk fo f u s

NATUREPL.COM

Simple actions we can all take in our gardens and across our neighbourhoods can make a real difference, and we are already seeing the benefits of linking up networks of habitat for hedgehogs to move safely through.

A Living Garden for hedgehogs and other wildlife For such a small animal, hedgehogs range over a surprisingly large area and in a single night a male hedgehog can travel 2-3kms. Green spaces such as parks, allotments and playing fields are not large enough to sustain hedgehog populations alone. They need large interconnected areas of feeding, nesting and hibernation habitat and access to many gardens.

Don’t use slug pellets or pesticides.

Hedgehogs eat slugs.

Provide log piles, long grass, rotting leaves and nectar-rich flowers to encourage worms, beetles, caterpillars, millipedes and earwigs, as these are the mainstay of a hedgehog’s diet.

Our modern landscape, fragmented by houses, roads, walls, fences and farming, is an increasingly difficult place for hedgehogs to navigate safely. Reversing the decline of hedgehogs will be a challenge, but creating a network of Living Gardens linked into a rich Living Landscape is a good place to start.

Make your garden safe for hedgehogs.

They are good swimmers, but if you have a pond they need a way to climb out.

Check too for netting, which hedgehogs can get tangled in if not tightly secured.

Make sure there are hedgehog-sized gaps in your garden fence, and encourage your neighbours to do the same. A 13cm/5” gap should allow even the largest hedgehog through.

Cut a hole in a wooden panel, make a gap under your gate, or ask a contractor to include a hole in a newly installed concrete gravel board. Dig under your fence to avoid cutting, or use a tunnel cinder block to deter use by pets.

Look for droppings, set up a night camera, make a footprint tunnel or a feeding station to see if you have a visiting hedgehog.

Hedgehog droppings are dark, textured and contain shiny bits of invertebrate.

MARK TAYLOR, PAUL HOBSON, ALI NORTH, PHIL MCLEAN FLPA, KLEIN & HUBERT NATURPL.COM, TERO LAAKSO, JOHN FERGUSON, TOM MARSHALL

Extra food and water can be a great help, but can’t substitute natural foraging habitat.

Tinned dog food, mixed with crushed dog biscuits and a little water, or a specialist hedgehog food will help supplement their diet. Never put out bread and milk as it makes hedgehogs ill.

Be less tidy!

Let autumn leaves rot where they fall or rake them into piles.

Long grass areas are best cut in winter and bramble areas in autumn. Check for hedgehogs when you cut long grass or bramble, as these areas are used for nesting.

More tips & advice

suffolkwildlifetrust.org

Hedgehogs need your help Jo

Plea s help e

i

Although alarm bells are ringing for Suffolk’s hedgehogs, a concerted effort now could help turn around their fortunes in the county. Hedgehogs breed slowly, so it will take years for populations to recover, but Suffolk Wildlife Trust can make a long-term commitment to hedgehogs because of the support and enthusiasm of our members.

Suff n Wild olk li Trus fe t

Is your garden

hedgehog friendly?

Help Suffolk Wildlife Trust stand up for hedgehogs  Make your garden hedgehog friendly and log it on our online map  Survey your garden or neighbourhood for hedgehog activity

Act for Suffolk’s hedgehogs by making your garden and neighbourhood hedgehog friendly

Join u s PIXABAY

 Make a small hole in your fence and leave wild areas in your garden  Log your hedgehog friendly garden and hedgehog sightings online

Ali North Hedgehog Officer

suffolkwildlifetrust.org 01473 890089

suffolkwildlifetrust.org 01473 890089 Registered charity no 262777

KLEIN & HUBERT NATUREPL.COM

 Add your voice to ours by joining Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

MARCH 2017

Please help

JOHN FERGUSON

 Spread the word and become a hedgehog champion

Hedgehogs need your help Jo

Plea s help e

i

Although alarm bells are ringing for Suffolk’s hedgehogs, a concerted effort now could help turn around their fortunes in the county. Hedgehogs breed slowly, so it will take years for populations to recover, but Suffolk Wildlife Trust can make a long-term commitment to hedgehogs because of the support and enthusiasm of our members.

Suff n Wild olk li Trus fe t

Is your garden

hedgehog friendly?

Help Suffolk Wildlife Trust stand up for hedgehogs  Make your garden hedgehog friendly and log it on our online map  Survey your garden or neighbourhood for hedgehog activity

Act for Suffolk’s hedgehogs by making your garden and neighbourhood hedgehog friendly

Join u s PIXABAY

 Make a small hole in your fence and leave wild areas in your garden  Log your hedgehog friendly garden and hedgehog sightings online

Ali North Hedgehog Officer

suffolkwildlifetrust.org 01473 890089

suffolkwildlifetrust.org 01473 890089 Registered charity no 262777

KLEIN & HUBERT NATUREPL.COM

 Add your voice to ours by joining Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

MARCH 2017

Please help

JOHN FERGUSON

 Spread the word and become a hedgehog champion