Ensuring hedgehogs can pass freely through your garden is one of the most important things you can do to help them.
Why do hedgehogs need holes in fences?
Hedgehogs travel around one mile every night in their active season in their quest to find enough food and a mate. If you have an enclosed garden you might be getting in the way of their plans.
One of the main reasons hedgehogs are struggling in Britain is because our fences and walls are becoming more and more secure, reducing the amount of land available to them.
What can we do to help?
We can make their life a little easier by removing the barriers within our control – for example, by making holes in or under our garden fences and walls for them to pass through. A 13cm x 13cm hole in your garden wall or fence will let hedgehogs through but will be too small for most pets. This is known as a hedgehog highway.
This hedgehog highway allows hedgehogs to forage for food, meet mates to breed and access nesting sites. This is essential in the battle to prevent the extinction of our endangered spiky friends.
That’s why St. Just Town Council has become part of the Hedgehog’s R Us Hedgehog Highway Project.
You can pick up a free hedgehog highway surround for your wall or fence from the Town Council staff at the Library (Monday to Wednesday, 9am-2pm).
You can then add your Hedgehog Highway information to the Big Hedgehog Map website which shows how many hedgehogs have been sighted or hedgehog holes created in your area.
For information on Hedgehog care please contact the Hedgepigs and Hoglets website or use their Facebook page.