As the cold begins to take hold, now is the time to spare a thought for wildlife.

The creatures in your garden are going in search of food sources and warm, dry zones where they can shelter away until spring.

Sarah Brooks, conservation management officer at Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, said: “A lot of mammals such as the dormouse and various reptiles and amphibians, including the great crested newt, will be hibernating over the winter.

“Grass snakes, slow worms and lots of different kinds of insects, such as butterflies and hornets, will all be hibernating as well.

“They are all looking for somewhere with a constant temperature and moisture – somewhere conditions will remain stable through the winter so that they won’t be affected by flooding or drying out or extreme temperatures.

“A good idea for insects, reptiles, amphibians and small mammals is to leave small rubble piles or log piles in your garden. These places offer shelter and protection from the elements.

“Birds and species of small mammals do stay awake but over winter a lot of their food supplies die back so it’s good to keep a variety of food in your garden.”

Some mammals will hibernate, with bats looking for warm, dry zones in tunnels or old ice houses, and hedgehogs squirrelling themselves away to survive the months when the insects they eat have either died out or gone into hiding.

Buglife is urging households to make a "bug hotel" in their gardens

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust has launched a Help for Hedgehogs campaign this year, warning that a drastic drop in numbers could lead to the species becoming extinct in the UK within the next decade.

Sarah added: “Hedgehogs are one of the UK’s most declining species, declining at the same rate as the tiger.

“There numbers have dropped dramatically because of road traffic accidents, habitat fragmentation, badgers and because people’s gardens have become more blocked off than they used to be, with fencing all the way round and no connectivity points between them.”

Small tunnels under fences and walls will help hedgehogs to roam, and leaving food out for them will give a further helping hand.

“Cat food is a good one,” says Sarah, “but don’t leave out milk. It doesn’t do them any good. Water is a must and if you have a pond make sure there’s a small mammal bridge so they can get out if they fall in.”

Creepy crawlies also need support, both in the garden and indoors.

Scott Shanks, project officer at Buglife, added: “Hibernating butterflies are coming into the house.

“Small tortoiseshells and peacock butterflies can begin to look for suitable sites to hibernate quite early in the year.

“If it’s still early autumn and sunny outside they’ll be fine if put back outside, but if discovered in winter they are best moved to a cool shed or garage where they will happily spend the winter before flying off to look for mates in the spring.”


House spiders become more visible in the autumn months when the males start their annual roam around looking for mates.

The Society of Biology is recording the movement of house spiders this year and are asking for people around the UK to add sightings on their website or via their ‘Spider in da house’ phone app.

Scott adds: “Making bug homes for hibernating insects is a great autumn topic.

“Once the leaves start to fall, people tend to want to tidy them up from under hedges or in the corners of the garden. However these leaf piles are often where ladybirds and other insects spend the winter so when people gather up the leaves and put them in a bonfire or into a damp compost heap, they are evicting the hard working ladybirds that have been living in their gardens.

"One simple bug home that uses fallen leaves can be made with some wire mesh. In the spring the dry leaves can then be added to the compost heap and the ladybirds and other hibernating insects can escape.”

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust’s Brandon Marsh shop stocks a range of homes and feeders for hedgehogs, birds and insects – or you can make your own.