Gardeners are being urged to leave dog food in their garden (Image: Alex Evans )
Gardeners are being urged to leave a bowl of dog food out in their gardens this weekend and through the next week.
Our can be a brilliant place to encourage wildlife and the natural world but sometimes nature needs a little bit of a helping hand.
This winter, are being asked to leave a bowl of dog or cat food in their garden to help endangered hedgehogs survive the tough winter months – especially when it’s freezing cold like it has been this week.
Hedgehogs are a vital part of British wildlife but their numbers are also seriously under threat thanks to a mixture of habitat loss, climate change and the way gardens are now in search of food.
As well as for them to slip through, gardeners are being asked to leave food out for them this winter.
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You can use cat or dog food but if your neighbourhood has a lot of roaming cats (as many do), it might be better to opt for dog food or you’ll just end up feeding the neighbour’s moggy instead.
Gardeners are being asked to put the food in a shallow dish and pop it in a sheltered area of the garden just before dusk.
Advice website Hedgehog Street says: “Hedgehogs will relish any combination of meat-based wet dog or cat foods, or dry cat/kitten food.
“Just remember, they will be getting most of their food from insects and worms in the wild, and this food is only supplementary. Specially made hedgehog food is also widely available. Those resembling pet food with a high meat content are most suitable.
“Place in a shallow dish and put in a sheltered area of your garden, or a feeding station, around sunset. Splitting food over several sites may reduce aggression at food bowls.”
It added: “But should food continue to be left out over winter? The answer is YES… as long as it’s being eaten. It’s difficult to tell exactly when hedgehogs will begin hibernation, so when you start to see that food is not being taken, you can stop putting so much out and perhaps just offer a few dry cat biscuits that don’t go off so quickly.
“Hedgehogs will wake from time to time during hibernation so if biscuits are taken or there’s a spell of mild weather, you could resume feeding again and repeat the process. A shallow dish of clean, fresh water is always a good idea as well, just be careful in case it freezes.”