Simple Garden Hack Can Save Hedgehogs From Dying From Dehydration

If you're anything like me, chances are that you've got hot hair blowing into your face and you've polished off more ice creams than you can remember this week.

That's why it's so important that we spare a thought - and an action - four our four-legged friends like hedgehogs as the UK experiences record-breaking temperatures. Check out this TikTok hack to keep your dog cool:

The Hedgehog Society is on a mission to encourage people to leave out shallow bowls of water to stop these essential animals from dying of dehydration.

It wrote on Twitter: "Let's make this viral - hedgehogs are dying of dehydration - please please share this post and offer some shallow bowls of water for wildlife (pop a few pebbles in to make sure insects that fall in can escape)."

A Twitter user then took the opportunity to remind people these bowls of water help insects too, as they also need some extra water!

One wrote: "Remember to put some water out for the insects, but with stones so they have a ledge I've just seen a bee drinking from one (I've got 3 round the garden)."

The importance of helping hedgehogs out was emphasised by Fay Vass, the Chief Executive of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.

As reported by Country Living, she said: "With the very hot dry weather hedgehogs and other wildlife are struggling to find natural sources of water, and the ground is so dry and hard that their natural food is hard to come by too.

"We all know how horrible it is to be thirsty, but this goes beyond that, there is so little natural water around at the moment, the hedgehogs are having to rely on us being kind enough to leave a drink for them - it must be like an oasis in a desert."

You can also go a step further to help out hedgehogs by providing them with some meaty animal foods.

But remember, if you are going to encourage hedgehogs into your garden, make sure that they've got a clear route in and out as the last thing anyone wants is for them to get stuck.

It's recommended that you have a 13cm square gap in your boundary walls and fences to give them this access.

If you're wanting to be a total hedgehog hero, you can even invest in a hedgehog hotel!

If you are based in the UK and are worried about the welfare of a hedgehog, you can contact the Hedgehog Society on 01584 890 801