{"id":520632,"date":"2026-04-09T02:00:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T02:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/520632\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T02:00:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T02:00:20","slug":"brits-urged-to-put-two-things-in-garden-this-month-that-could-help-banish-slugs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/520632\/","title":{"rendered":"Brits urged to put two things in garden this month that could help banish slugs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hedgehog numbers are declining in the UK, but wildlife experts say there are two simple things you can add to your garden this April to encourage these shy creatures, who provide natural pest control for slugs, to visit\"Large<\/p>\n

Slugs can devastate salad crops \u2013 but they have a natural enemy(Image: Oleksandr Lanevskyi via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Brits are being encouraged to introduce two simple additions to their gardens this month. As a wet winter means we can look forward to a bumper crop of slugs this spring \u2013 but the best answer could be to encourage their fiercest natural predator.<\/p>\n

Hedgehog populations are declining across the UK, with the latest estimates suggesting approximately 879,000 remain in England<\/a>, Scotland<\/a> and Wales. However, these elusive creatures are notoriously difficult to count accurately.<\/p>\n

They’re increasingly appearing in urban environments, meaning even those living in densely populated areas might have the opportunity to welcome one of these timid yet captivating animals<\/a> into their garden.<\/p>\n

There are a couple of straightforward steps you can take to encourage hedgehogs to visit. Now is an ideal time to implement these changes, as hedgehogs emerge from hibernation in early April.<\/p>\n

While hedgehog numbers are falling, they provide natural pest control for slugs and beetles, making it worthwhile to incorporate these two elements into your garden this month.<\/p>\n

Emma Brown, from hedgehog rescue charity Prickles and Paws, told the Express: “The single most important thing, for any wildlife, is a dish of water. But a lot of people just don’t think of that.”<\/p>\n

\"European<\/p>\n

Emma says people often overlook the importance of leaving water out(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n

The second element, however, is somewhat more “controversial”. She added: “When it comes to feeding hedgehogs, this can get quite controversial and a lot of people have opinions about it, but we like to say keep it simple.”<\/p>\n

She recommends cat food – specifically the small dry ‘biscuit’ variety rather than wet food that will rapidly go mouldy if left outdoors – as the perfect food for hedgehogs.<\/p>\n

She explained: “Dry cat food is easier, it’s not going to go off, and it’s not going to attract as many flies. It’s also easier to tell if it’s hedgehogs eating it, because they tend to leave crumbs behind.” Hedgehogs, it turns out, are rather messy eaters.<\/p>\n

On top of that, Emma adds, “they will poop absolutely everywhere.” As hedgehogs are timid creatures, their droppings are frequently the only indication that one has taken up residence in your garden. These are typically black or dark brown, sausage-shaped, and roughly an inch or two in length. Given that they predominantly feed on insects such as beetles, you’ll often notice shiny fragments of bug shells within the droppings.<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/p>\n

Hedgehogs like invertebrates like mealworms, but will happily eat cat food(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n

Naturally, placing any type of food in your garden will draw in less desirable wildlife, particularly rats, alongside hedgehogs. “Rats are everywhere, you can’t do anything about that,” Emma explains.<\/p>\n

And it goes without saying that leaving cat food outside will be regarded as a welcome treat by neighbouring cats. Emma says: “Anyone who invents a hedgehog feeding station that cats can’t get into is going to make a fortune.”<\/p>\n

A simple hedgehog feeding station can be constructed using nothing more than an old plastic storage box with a hole cut out, large enough for a hedgehog to wander through.<\/p>\n

Placing a brick on top may make things somewhat trickier for opportunistic cats. However, Emma warns this is far from a guaranteed solution. A slightly more sophisticated variation on the same concept involves digging a small tunnel into your feeding station, though Emma cautions that “it’s quite surprising what cats can squeeze into”.<\/p>\n

The cleverest solution Emma has encountered recently involves positioning a tray of water in front of the feeding station’s entrance. “Hedgehogs don’t mind getting wet feet but cats don’t like having wet paws,” she explains.<\/p>\n

\"Hedghehog\"<\/p>\n

A small hole in your garden fence will make it more likely that hedgehogs will visit(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n

Cats are equally reluctant to walk through the sort of plastic strip curtain once commonly seen at the entrances of butchers and fishmongers, so fitting one of these could potentially discourage unwanted visitors from raiding your hedgehog’s dining area.<\/p>\n

Beyond keeping intruders out of the feeding station, ensuring hedgehogs can actually access your garden is equally vital. If you have a wooden or wire fence that extends all the way to ground level, you may need to create a modest gap for hedgehogs to enter in the first place. An opening roughly 5″ (13cm) square – “about the size of a CD case” according to Emma – ought to do the job.<\/p>\n

She notes that hedgehogs possess an extraordinary sense of smell, meaning once they detect the scent of food you’ve put out, they’re likely to come trotting in from quite a distance.<\/p>\n

As they tend to be rather timid creatures, you might already have a hedgehog visiting your garden without knowing it – so take care when turning over compost heaps or burning dead leaves and branches! One great way to make your garden even more inviting for hedgehogs is to install a purpose-built hedgehog house.<\/p>\n

Place some dry leaves or appropriate bedding material near the entrance \u2014 if it’s been pulled inside within a couple of days, it’s a sure sign that a new resident has taken up occupancy. Another handy tip is to rest a stick across the entrance; if it’s been disturbed, there’s a good chance a hedgehog has made itself at home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hedgehog numbers are declining in the UK, but wildlife experts say there are two simple things you can…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":520633,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[2851,6738,90,56,54,55,4407],"class_list":{"0":"post-520632","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-animals","9":"tag-gardening","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-unitedkingdom","14":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}