Introduction

Through March, we will be covering support feeding – See our first post about hedgehogs:

Hillbans Pest Control, focuses on various issues concerning pest species whilst understanding that human intervention can go hand in hand with most issues faced by our local wildlife. This blog focuses on one of Britain’s most loved garden visitors: The hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus).

What is support feeding and who are you actually feeding?

Support feeding is way to support wildlife when natural food sources are scare. However, understanding your garden ecology is the first step towards responsible wildlife management keeping our beloved species safe.

Hedgehog Animal Profile

Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) are seen as a rural species, associated with rural and agricultural landscapes across Europe. However, recent studies have shown that hedgehogs are more likely to be found in urban than rural habitats in the UK (Yarnell, 2020). Food availability has been shown to having an influence on hedgehog distribution and has been shown to influence hedgehog habitat selection as well as foraging patterns.  

Hedgehogs Typically:

• Travel up to 1-2 km per night.
• Feed primarily on beetles, caterpillars, worms and other invertebrates, they are known as insectivores.
• Require access between gardens (Hedgehog highways) so to not become trapped.
• Between November and the end of March, when food is scarce, hedgehogs hibernate to conserve energy remaining inactive.
• During the rest of the year they are mostly nocturnal.

(Wilson E, 2018)

Who is Visiting Your Garden?

Putting out food does not guarantee you’re only feeding visiting hedgehogs.

Supplementary feeding can attract multiple species including but not all:

• Rats (Rattus norvegicus)
• Mice (Mus musculus)
• Birds (Avis)
• Foxes (Vulpes vulpes)
• Badgers (Meles meles)
• Slugs (Gastropoda)
• Ants (Formicidea)

Inviting prey species into a garden with known predator activity is only going to end in fatalities and decreased numbers as a whole. Local areas with badger highways and visiting foxes should deter hedgehogs from visiting.

Research shows that supplementary feeding can alter wildlife behaviour. Before feeding:

• Use wildlife cameras to confirm hedgehog presence.
• Monitor activity patterns.

Is Support Feeding Necessary?

Hedgehogs evolved to feed on invertebrates and are known as insectivores. A healthy garden ecosystem provides:

• Beetles
• Slugs
• Caterpillars
• Worms

When Feeding May Help:

• Late autumn when underweight adults and juveniles are active.
• Early spring when natural food is scare.
• During prolonged drought.

When Feeding Can Cause Issues:

• When food is left out daily without monitoring.
• When is attracts rodents.
• When hygiene is poor.
• When is creates dependency in high-density urban areas.
• Changes in natural behaviours.

How to feed safely to avoid pests:

• Use a covered feeding station.
• Place food in a central, monitored location.
• Clean all stations daily.
• Move feeding stations to deter rodents.
• Feed high-protein foods.
• Provide fresh water daily.

Your Garden Ecology:

Many UK households are interested in wildlife and has seen a rise in greener practices across the UK. Your garden should be a healthy balance of species, both flora and fauna, but not all areas and practices promoted are appropriate.

An example is bird boxes and feeders being installed in residential gardens, and approximately 51% of residents supply food for birds (Gazzard, 2021). However, bird feeders are often utilised by non target species that are common and widespread affecting the population of targeted individuals and causing declining trends that are usually unseen.

Although more research is needed on the effects of support feeding, we can all play our part and critically think about our own practices within our areas. Seasonal planting helps to encourage various species within your garden promoting natural food sources and behaviours for hedgehogs. The use of  superficially manufactured or supplemental food has seen spikes in weight gain of individuals leading to health issues and easier predation from predators (Angela Gimmel, Etl 2021).

Home self-management of “pest species”, readily acquired, has seen a rise in non-target secondary poisoning. Given that one of hedgehog’s natural food sources bioaccumulates substances used to manage rodents, this in turn leads to poisoning.   

Hedgehog Highways:

Hedgehogs roam widely, small 13cm x 13cm gaps in fences allow safe movement between gardens. Encourage neighbours to join in creating connected gardens to create safer micro-habitats with increasing populations.

By having hedgehog highways, hedgehogs will not become trapped and will be able to look for natural food sources whilst exhibiting natural behaviors.  

If in doubt, monitor:

Trail cameras provide insight into:

• Who is visiting feeding stations.
• What time they visit.
• Whether rodents are active.
• Seasonal changes in behaviour.

Need Advice?

At Hillbans we believe pest management and wildlife conservation can work together with the correct approach.  All our information is current and researched by peer reviewed papers. If you wish to talk to our conservation or environmental management team, please ccontact us for more information or advice.

References

Yarnell, R. W., & Pettett, C. E. (2020). Beneficial land management for hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) in the United Kingdom. Animals, 10(9), 1566. Beneficial Land Management for Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) in the United Kingdom

Wilson, E., & Wembridge, D. (2018). The state of Britain’s hedgehogs 2018. People’s Trust for Endangered Species: London, UK. SoBH-2018_final-1.pdf

Gazzard, A., Boushall, A., Brand, E., & Baker, P. J. (2021). An assessment of a conservation strategy to increase garden connectivity for hedgehogs that requires cooperation between immediate neighbours: A barrier too far?. PloS one, 16(11), e0259537.

Chace, J.F., & Walsh, J.J. (2006) Urban effects on native avifauna: A review.Landsc Urban Plan 74, 46-69.

Inger, R Gregory, JP Duffy, I Stott, P Voříšek, P., et al. (2015) Ecology – Wiley Online Library.

Gimmel A, Eulenberger U, & Liesegang, A. (2021). Feeding the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus L.)—risks of commercial diets for wildlife.

11july2021 https://doi.org/10.1111/jpn.13561