Those hedgehogs that had their litters in June will have started to take their babies out on foraging trips at night. This is so that the babies start to learn to find food for themselves. They won’t leave their mother just yet through, returning to the nest with her and continuing to take her milk as well as the food they find whilst out and about. It’ll be a few more weeks before they’re ready to leave, but they will be starting to develop the vital skills that they need to be able to survive on their own.

Did you know: the biggest predator of hedgehogs in the UK is the badger. Find out more here. 

You may have seen in the news , headlines telling us that a number of our beloved native species are seriously in danger Amongst them is the hedgehog. If we all do a little bit to improve the environment for our prickly friends, we can play our part in helping to change that. Here are the things that you can be doing this month in your garden and in the local area to be kind to hedgehogs:

• Review the chemicals that you might be using in your garden. Slug pellets are a major threat to hedgehogs. They forage for the slugs and snails and can inadvertently ingest these poisonous chemicals. Slug pellets should be avoided at all cost as they kill hedgehogs.
• Remember to check overgrown areas before you use a strimmer.
• Don’t forget the importance of creating a small gap in your fences (13 cm by 13 cm) to help local hogs to get about more easily.
• Offering clean, fresh water to visiting hogs will continue to be a small, but very important, thing that you can do over the weeks ahead.

SPOTTED A HEDGEHOG IN YOUR GARDEN?   If you spot a hedgehog either in your garden or somewhere in the local area, please let us know. It would be really exciting to build up a picture of where and when they are being seen locally.

You can also log your sightings with Hedgehog Street (the project run by the Hedgehog Preservation Society) who are building up a national picture of the state of our hog population.                               Find out more here

If you spot a hedgehog out during the middle of the day, they may well be in trouble. Contact Willow Wildlife for advice on 07956 472284 or Michelle (on behalf of Friends of Shrewsbury Park) on 07849 534759.

More from the Hedgehog Diaries next month.