Press releases

A ban on the nighttime use of robotic lawn mowers is now in effect throughout the entire Aachen CityRegion. The City of Aachen and the Aachen Urban Region have established this regulation today through general orders with identical provisions. They will take effect tomorrow, September 1, 2026, and remain in effect indefinitely until revoked. Accordingly, the operation of robotic lawn mowers (all service robots capable of mowing a specified area autonomously and not via remote control) is now prohibited during the period from half an hour before sunset until half an hour after sunrise the following day. The rationale behind this is to protect wildlife, particularly hedgehogs and other small mammals, as well as amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates. The European hedgehog and all native amphibians are specially protected under the Federal Nature Conservation Act and the Federal Species Protection Ordinance.

In recent decades, there has been a decline in the European hedgehog population, including in Germany. Since 2024, it has been listed for the first time on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as “potentially endangered.” A major reason for this is the lack of suitable habitats in the open countryside. These areas often lack hedges and shrubs where the animals sleep during the day, build their nests for hibernation, and raise their young. As a result, hedgehogs often seek refuge in alternative habitats such as green spaces, parks, cemeteries, and private gardens. However, robotic lawn mowers are being used more and more frequently in these private gardens.

Because of their low noise levels, these are often put into operation during the twilight hours and at night.

For nocturnal hedgehogs, these nighttime operations—which are unsupervised by humans—are particularly dangerous. This is because hedgehogs do not run away when they sense danger; instead, they freeze and curl up into a ball. But many other small animal species (such as common toads and other amphibians) also go out at night in search of food. In all these cases, the animals may be run over by the robotic mower and seriously injured or killed by the sharp blades and rotating cutting mechanisms. All injured animals usually suffer for a very long time and endure considerable pain.

Currently available technical systems are not yet sufficient to protect wildlife. As studies have shown, these systems have so far been unable to reliably detect hedgehogs in particular.

The general ruling issued by the City of Aachen applies to the entire city area, while that issued by the Aachen CityRegion covers the nine additional “former county municipalities” of Alsdorf, Baesweiler, Eschweiler, Herzogenrath, Monschau, Roetgen, Simmerath, Stolberg, and Würselen, for which the Aachen Urban Region serves as the lower-level nature conservation authority.

A joint press release from the City of Aachen and the Aachen Metropolitan Region.

The General Order: https://www.aachen.de/services/oeffentliche-bekanntmachungen/2026/