Overview
- Wildlife experts are calling on homeowners to make a CD-case-sized hole at the base of garden fences before spring.
- Hedgehogs typically emerge from hibernation between mid-March and early April in search of food, mates, and nesting sites.
- Anton Baskerville of Woodlands.co.uk says fences and walls restrict roaming, while hedgehog highways improve survival and reproduction.
- Thomson Environmental Consultants recommend marking the gaps and coordinating with neighbours to link gardens into continuous routes.
- British hedgehogs are classed as vulnerable due to habitat loss, road deaths, and reduced food, and gardeners are urged to check for resting hedgehogs before mowing.