Hedgehog populations across the UK are in decline. As we get better at fencing our gardens, they lose their freedom to roam.
Hedgehogs need to move between our gardens to forage for food and water successfully. Wherever you live, please create a series of 13x13cm access holes in your garden fence (between your neighbours to the side and to the rear!) to allow your hedgehogs easy access between neighbourhood gardens without venturing onto the roads. Alternatively, replace your fence with a native hedge – much better for wildlife and with ready-made access holes! You can also put out bowls of water and dry cat or dog food, ideally under a hedge or log pile where pets can’t reach.
Hedgehogs love patches of long grass and wildflowers, as this is habitat for their favourite foods – caterpillars and beetles!
Avoid using fertilisers and chemicals, including slug pellets. If you have too many slugs and snails in your garden, consider digging a pond instead, which will attract predators like frogs and toads.
Wilderhood Watch Hedgehog Street Projects
- Lancaster and Gurney Court Roads
- Bernards Heath
- The Park
- Ladder Roads
- Clifton Street
- Woodstock Rd South, Eaton Rd and Arthur Rd
- Leyland Ave
- Offa Rd, Abbey View Rd and Ver Rd
- Cunningham Ave
- Burnham Rd
- Salisbury Ave and Garden Close
- Charmouth Rd
- Firbank Rd
- Fontmell Close
- Prospect Rd
- George St
- Beaumont Ave
The Hedgehog Street website is a fantastic source of information and resources. Watch this film clip to find out how to make your garden hedgehog friendly.
We’ve been putting up signs along our Hedgehog Streets to encourage drivers to keep to a safe speed and prevent our much-loved neighbourhood hedgehogs from being run over. Here are some recent additions along Lancaster Road, including outside Little Steps Day Nursery!
Contact us if you would like a Hedgehog Sign!
The Lancaster and Gurney Court Roads Wilderhood Watch Group officially launched their Wilderhood Watch Hedgehog Street project on the 19th May 2019 as part of the St Albans Sustainability Festival 2019. Check out their project pages to find out about running a hedgehog house building day, how to create a dog proof hedgehog hole, and see our hedgecam footage!
Contact us if your neighbourhood is interested in running a similar project, if you’d like to find out more about ours, or if you already have a Hedgehog Street project and would like to become part of Wilderhood Watch!
We recently found this malnourished hedgehog sitting in broad daylight on the side of a road near St Albans town centre. After bringing it home and giving it some water, we took it to our local vet who checked for injury and then gave it to a local hedgehog rehabilitation centre, where it will be looked after until it is well enough to be released.
