How Hedgehogs Survive Winter in Your Garden

Why hedgehogs are worth protecting in your garden

A hedgehog snuffling through your beds at night is free pest control. In a single night it eats roughly 100 to 200 grams of slugs, beetles, caterpillars and other invertebrates, dozens of prey animals in all. Seeing one after dark is a good sign: it means your garden has enough insects, healthy soil and little or no pesticide use. Hedgehogs are a protected species in both Belgium, under the Flemish Soortenbesluit, and the Netherlands, under the Wet natuurbescherming, so you may not catch, disturb or harm them or their nests.

From September through October, hedgehogs focus on one task: gaining as much weight as possible before hibernation. The more your garden supports that, the better the odds that the hedgehog you see this autumn wakes up again in spring. Three things matter most: food, a dry shelter, and a way through to neighbouring gardens.

Why winter is the hardest season for a hedgehog

A hedgehog hibernates from roughly mid October until the end of March and eats nothing at all during that time; it survives purely on stored fat. An adult weighing less than about 500 grams by late October does not have enough reserves to make it through; ideally it weighs 600 to 700 grams or more. An underweight hedgehog rarely dies right away. Instead it starves quietly in its nest sometime in January or February, without anyone noticing.

Three changes have made this harder than it used to be. Tidy gardens without leaf piles or dead wood offer no shelter at all. Solid, unbroken fencing traps a hedgehog in a single garden when it naturally needs several to find enough food. And traffic and strimmers or flail mowers kill thousands of hedgehogs every autumn while they are out looking for food or a place to sleep.

A leaf pile: the best hedgehog hotel, and it costs nothing

In October and November, simply leave a share of your fallen leaves where they are. A pile at least 1.5 metres wide and 1 metre high, against a hedge or fence in a sheltered corner, insulates well and holds moisture. Hedgehogs will dig their own hollow into it; you do not need to shape one for them. Leave the pile standing until at least May, since young hedgehogs and many beneficial insects overwinter inside it too.

You can combine the leaf pile with a compost heap without any trouble; both attract worms and beetles, which in turn feed the hedgehog. Not sure a wild corner like this would suit the rest of your garden? On gardenworld.app you can see a free preview of a natural corner with a leaf pile and shelter in your own garden, before you move a single leaf.

Building a hedgehog house

If you have no room for a leaf pile, build a hedgehog house instead: roughly 40 by 40 cm, with an entrance 10 to 13 cm wide so only hedgehogs, not larger animals, can get in. Insulate it with dry straw or leaves and add a roof that sheds rain. Building one yourself costs far less than buying a ready-made house.

Place it in half shade, against a fence or hedge, never in full sun, since a hedgehog sleeping during the day must not overheat or dry out. Face the entrance away from the prevailing wind. Many hedgehogs still prefer a leaf pile to a wooden box, so do not expect instant occupancy; offering both together works best.

Cutting a passage through your fence

A hedgehog easily covers 1 to 2 kilometres in a single night and visits several gardens along the way, looking for food and mates. A solid fence with no gaps shuts it out completely and, over time, increases inbreeding within a small, isolated group.

Saw or drill a hole roughly 13 by 13 cm, about the size of a CD case, just above ground level, ideally in the same spot as your neighbours. One hole shared between two gardens can already make a real difference. Talk to the street: a row of such holes along a whole terrace of gardens, a hedgehog highway, works far better than a single isolated opening.

Feeding in September and October

From early September to the end of October, you can offer extra food, since natural prey becomes scarcer as it cools down. At dusk, put out a small handful, about 50 to 100 grams, of wet cat food or unsalted cooked meat or fish, in the same spot near the fence passage each evening. Keep it out of reach of cats, for example under a small feeding house with a narrow entrance.

Stop abruptly in mid November: by then most hedgehogs have already gone into hibernation, and food left outside mainly attracts rats. Never use slug pellets or glyphosate-based weedkiller anywhere a hedgehog might visit. Glyphosate has been banned for private use in Belgium and the Netherlands for years, and it is also toxic to hedgehogs and to the slugs they eat.

What you must never give a hedgehog

Milk and bread soaked in milk are the classic mistake: hedgehogs cannot digest milk, which gives them severe diarrhoea that can kill them. Also avoid salted food, meat fried in lots of oil or butter, and large amounts of loose dried mealworms, which are low in calcium and can cause bone problems if fed often. A small handful as an occasional treat is fine.

A shallow dish of water next to the food never hurts, even though hedgehogs get most of their fluids from food. More important is what you avoid altogether: poison pellets, pond edges a hedgehog cannot climb out of, and running a flail mower through long grass or a leaf pile without checking it with a stick first.

A pond edge as an extra food source

A shallow pond or a large water bowl is almost as valuable to a hedgehog as food: it drinks from it and likes to dig in the damp soil nearby for worms and larvae. Keep the shallow end to about 20 to 30 cm and add a rough slope of stones or a plank so any animal that falls in can climb back out.

No pond? A flat bowl of water with a few stones in it works almost as well. Place it near the fence passage so a hedgehog passing through at night is likely to find it.

Step by step

Step 1: Build leaf piles (September)

Rake up fallen leaves and build at least one pile 1.5 metres wide and 1 metre high against a hedge or fence, in a sheltered corner of the garden.

Step 2: Cut a fence passage (September-October)

Saw or drill a hole roughly 13 by 13 cm just above ground level in your fence, and ask neighbours to match it on their side.

Step 3: Start feeding (October)

From early October, put out a small portion of wet cat food or unsalted meat each evening, at the same spot and time, out of reach of cats.

Step 4: Set up a water source (October)

Dig a shallow pond or place a flat water bowl with climbing stones, close to the fence passage.

Step 5: Stop and observe (mid November)

Stop feeding abruptly in the second half of November, since most hedgehogs are hibernating by then. Check in spring for signs that the leaf pile or house was used.

Frequently asked questions

Should I bring an underweight hedgehog indoors for winter?

Better not on your own: indoor warmth can stop it hibernating properly or wake it too early. If you find a hedgehog in October or November that is clearly too light, with ribs you can feel and no energy during the day, call a licensed hedgehog rescue in your area for advice.

How do I know if a hedgehog is heavy enough for winter?

Lift it gently with gloves on: a healthy hedgehog feels firm and rounded, not angular. If you can feel the spine and ribs sticking out sharply, it is underweight and needs help.

Why does no hedgehog visit the food I put out?

Hedgehogs are cautious and often need a few weeks to trust a new feeding spot. Put food out at the exact same place and time every evening, avoid bright garden lighting, and make sure there is actually a route into your garden through the fence.

What should I do with a dead hedgehog I find on the road?

Report it to your local council or a hedgehog rescue, especially if it keeps happening in the same spot; that can point to a busy crossing where a passage or a warning sign would help.

See it in your own garden first

Curious how a wilder corner with a leaf pile, hedgehog house and fence passage would look in your own garden? Upload a photo of your garden to gardenworld.app and see a free preview of a new design with this planting; the sharp image with a plant list costs 7.99, a one-time payment, no subscription.