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For many years well-meaning people have been putting out bread and milk to "help" hedgehogs, but human beings are the only mammals on the planet to drink milk after we have been weaned so please don't give any milk or bread to wildlife (and that goes for the Ducks too).

DO NOT GIVE WILDLIFE MILK OR BREAD!

Hedgehogs are insectivores and, in the wild, live on a diet of beetles, earthworms, caterpillars, millipedes, earwigs, and other invertebrates.

If in doubt, contact us.

Make a feeding station. A plastic storage box upside down with a CD size hole about 5 inches square, with a tunnel in the hole, will allow hogs to get in for the food but keep cats and other larger animals out.

Put a bowl or 2 of cat food in but keep the water outside, as hogs will walk in and sometimes poop in the water bowl. A couple of heavy bricks on top will stop a bigger animal toppling it over and you have a perfect Hedgehog restaurant. If you use a clear box you can watch your Spiky Butt without disturbing him.

To support their natural foraging habits, it's best to offer cat food just twice a week between June and October — this is enough to supplement their wild diet. During the colder months, from October to June, you can increase feeding to 4 to 6 times per week when natural food is scarcer.

It's a good idea to check with neighbours to see if others are also feeding the local hedgehogs. Too much supplementary food can lead to over-dependence on humans and reduce their natural foraging. It can also cause weight gain, which isn't healthy — overweight hedgehogs may struggle to curl into a tight ball, making them more vulnerable to predators like dogs, foxes, and badgers.