How can I help hedgehogs without attracting rats?

Control the food and you can do both. Put out only what gets eaten overnight, use a feeding station away from sheds and walls, and give the hedgehog house a quiet spot with a safe way out of any pond.

Mice and rats 3 min read Updated 9 October 2026

You can, and the worry is a sensible one. Food left out overnight does draw rats, so the answer is not to stop helping hedgehogs but to control the food: how much, when, and where. Keep feeding and sleeping separate, put the station in the open rather than against a shed, and clear up every morning.

What to feed, and how much

Meaty cat or dog food, or a food made for hedgehogs, plus a shallow dish of water. Hedgehog charities in the UK advise against milk and bread.
Put it out at dusk, not in the afternoon.
Put out a little. Start small. If the dish is empty every morning, add a bit more. If food is left over, cut back.
Clear leftovers first thing. Food that sits out all day is what rats and flies find.

Use a feeding station, in the right place

A feeding station is a box with a small entrance, often with an inside wall so the food is not straight behind the door. It keeps cats, foxes and birds off the food. Put a brick on the lid so it cannot be pushed open.

Be honest with yourself about what it does not do. A rat can get through a hedgehog-sized entrance. That is why the amount and timing matter more than the box. Place the station in the open, away from sheds, decking, compost heaps and walls, where rats feel exposed and less likely to settle.

Where the hedgehog house goes

A quiet, sheltered, shady spot at the back of a border or under a hedge, where nobody walks past.
Entrance turned away from the wind, with leaves or straw nearby for bedding.
No food inside. Food in the house draws rats and other animals to the place a hedgehog sleeps. Keep the feeding station somewhere else.
On an allotment, check the site rules first and tell your neighbours, so nobody strims or digs around it.

Next to a pond is not a bad idea in itself, as long as the pond has a way out. Hedgehogs can swim, but they drown if they cannot climb out of steep sides. Give it a sloping edge, a ramp, a pile of stones or a plank going in. With that in place, keep the house a few steps back from the water, not right on the edge.

If you see rats

Pause the feeding for a while, and clear any bird feeder spill.
Check the usual spots: under the shed, behind the compost, along fences. Our answer on holes under the shed shows how to tell if a hole is in use.
Start again with less, put out later, and move the station further into the open.

Never put poison, glue traps or snap traps down for rats in a hedgehog garden. Hedgehogs, birds and pets can be caught or poisoned too. The mice and rats guide has the humane plan if rats settle.

A hedgehog out in daylight, wobbling, lying still or looking hurt, may need help. Contact a local hedgehog rescue, a wildlife rescue or a vet, and follow their advice before you handle it. Wear gloves if you have to move it.

Make the garden easy to cross

Hedgehogs travel between gardens at night. A small gap at the bottom of a fence, agreed with your neighbour, lets them through. Keep netting off the ground, check long grass before strimming, and check bonfire piles before lighting them. The garden visitors guide has more on sharing the garden with wildlife.