Hedgehogs numbers have fallen drastically since the year 2000 and hedgehogs are now endangered. There are many things we can do to provide hedgehog support in Ealing around our gardens and local green spaces.
This list is courtesy of Ealing Hedgehog Friends.
How to Help Hedgehogs
Injuries
if you find an injured hedgehog, please contact Ealing Hedgehog Friends or Wild Chiswick, who will be able to help. For URGENT help i.e. you have a sick or injured hedgehog in need of help please email help@ealinghedgehogfriends.com
Highways
During an average night a hedgehog will often travel 1-2 miles and pass through around 20 gardens. You can help their progress by cutting a hole in the base of your fence to help create a hedgehog highway. If you can join forces with neighbours in the street to create an even larger highway, even better.
Put Nets Out of Reach
Hedgehogs have very poor eyesight and rely on their keen sense of smell to navigate. Any sort of net is a real risk as once tangled up they find it impossible to escape. If you are growing peas, soft fruit etc up nets, please raise the net above ground level so that they can pass underneath. Raising the net 10-12 inches will not affect the support properties for your fruit and veg but can save a hog.
If using nets, like football goals with nets, please put these away after use.
Ponds
Hedgehogs can swim but they can’t climb sheer surfaces. If you have a pond that doesn’t have sloping sides, please provide a way for them to get out. A ramp or a few rocks at differing heights to make a stone staircase will work.
Clear Away Litter
Pick up litter especially anything that is a tube, bottle, cup, ring, sling, rubber band, netting, six-pack holders for beer cans, and of course broken glass or other sharp objects.
If you find a hedgehog that is trapped in tube or netting do not try to remove it yourself. Call a rescue or a vet. Even if you manage to remove the obstacle, the hedgehog needs to be checked out because constriction wounds may not be visible.
Paints and Poisons
Weedkillers and pesticides are bad news for hedgehogs, and small hedgehogs can find their way into “professional” rat traps. Please don’t leave open paint tins in the garden over night, or tins with paint running down the sides.
Fresh wood preserver can attract hedgehogs who may lick this. It is better to treat your fences at the beginning of the day, not just before night falls. This will allow it to dry before hedgehogs are out and about.
Mowing & cutting long grass
Every year many hogs are injured, often fatally, by garden cutting tools. Please check in long grass and edges for hedgehogs before you begin. Also be careful moving bonfires or compost heaps. Do not just plunge a fork in before checking.
Daytime
Although primarily nocturnal adventurers there are times when they will be out and about during the day. This is more common in the breeding season, May to September. Hedgehogs will often be found sleeping under hedges (the clue is in the name!). They can also be found in long grass, log piles, bonfires etc.
Attracting Hedgehogs to Your Garden
You can attract hedgehogs to your garden by making them welcome and by providing food and water (no milk!). Water can be left out in the garden but if you leave food in the open, it is likely that it will be eaten by foxes or cats. A feeding station is a good way of making sure that the hedgehogs can get to the food, and is really nothing more than a specially tailored storage box.
Water is important especially in any dry summer months. Dry conditions also hamper the hogs from digging for earthworms etc if the ground becomes compacted. Although you can buy hedgehog food this is not necessary. Any wet cat or dog food is suitable although they do prefer meaty ones rather than fish. Dry cat food is also suitable.
Please do not feed hedgehogs milk, bread, mealworms, nuts, sunflower hearts etc.
Local Hedgehog support Organisations
A number of organisations are providing hedgehog support in Ealing. Click on the links below to find out more.
Ealing Hedgehog Friends was formed in 2023 and is a not-for-profit association formed to rescue and rehabilitate injured, ill, malnourished, and orphaned hedgehogs in Ealing and surrounding areas.
Wild Chiswick is a community-based not-for-profit organisation formed with the aim of increasing awareness of the wildlife around Chiswick. They also conduct research and implement ways to help vulnerable species, such as helping improve habitats by drilling hedgehog highways, advising on wildlife gardening, installing swift boxes and making wildlife areas.
Ealing Wildlife Group is an inclusive community of locals interested in nature and wildlife in the Borough of Ealing and beyond. As well as sharing knowledge, sightings, and photos, Ealing Wildlife Group seek advice, lobby local authorities and developers, organise educational events, arrange outings and celebrate the wonderful wildlife we share our surroundings with. Passionate about nature, this community of likeminded individuals, made up of a dedicated group of volunteers, local experts, and amateur naturalists, are keen to continue to learn, and actively conserve, it. Relying on citizen science, Ealing Wildlife Group also collect and submit data on biodiversity in Ealing.
