Lonny Hanmer has worked at Hoscote House near Hawick in the Scottish Borders for seven years. Hoscote is a 475 acre beef and sheep farm with about 100 acres of  woodland.  Over the years he has all but eradicated greys from Hoscote and now has a very healthy red squirrel population.

What prompted you to get involved in red squirrel conservation?
When I started working at Hoscote, Elly Hamilton, who was the Red Squirrel Conservation Officer at the time, visited the farm. Grey control was not being done properly and she asked if I would like to take it on. I had always loved red squirrels and was concerned that grey numbers were on the increase so I gladly took up the challenge.

What were red and grey numbers like when you first started to carry out grey squirrel control?
When I first started there were only grey squirrels on the grounds. In my first month I did see one red squirrel down at the Lodge by the entrance of the estate but two weeks later it had been killed by a logging truck.
The first time I saw a red since then was two years ago and the last time I saw a grey was 18 months ago.

How would you describe the current state of the red squirrel population on the farm?
There is a very healthy population of reds. In fact, they’re doing so well that they have spread out beyond the grounds of the estate to a farm about a mile up the road. I see reds playing as I go about feeding the sheep and pheasants. It’s very rewarding to see healthy red squirrel families thriving on the estate.

Could you describe what you consider to be the key to your success in protecting and maintaining your red squirrel population?
Consistent grey squirrel control. I carry out trapping all year round. To give you an idea of what I mean by ‘consistent’, in the seven years I have been at Hoscote I have had seven days holiday!

It’s also important to keep up the monitoring and keep records of all sightings and results of the monitoring. I set traps with sticky pads which collects hair samples. I send these samples to Richard Wales, Red Squirrel Project Officer at Red Squirrels in South Scotland (RSSS), every two weeks who sends them off for analysis.

Lonny's efforts are part of the RSSS project. Click here to find out more about the project.