Hedgehog

How to recognise it

Unmistakable. Nocturnal, noisy when feeding, leaves dark cylindrical droppings on lawns.

Mistaken for

Bread and milk are often left out for them, which makes them seriously ill - they are lactose intolerant. Kindness that harms.

What it eats

Slugs and snails, Cutworm, Vine weevil

How to attract it

A gap of 13 cm at the base of a fence so they can roam, a log or leaf pile for nesting, shallow water, and absolutely no metaldehyde slug pellets.

Plants that help

Not recorded — the field is blank rather than guessed.

Lifecycle

One or two litters a year, hibernating in leaf piles from about November.

Months: March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October

The thing people get wrong

Never put out bread and milk - it causes severe illness. Water and a little meat-based cat food is what actually helps. And the single most valuable thing you can do is a hedgehog-sized hole in the fence: they range over a kilometre a night and a sealed garden is a dead end for them.