Death Watch Beetle eviction from Grade II Listed Water Mill

Sadler’s Water Mill is an historic Grade II Listed building on the River Test in Romsey, Hampshire. The mill currently on this site, was rebuilt in 1748 by Lord Palmerston but later fell into disrepair. After being derelict for a number of years, it was rescued in 2007 by Mr Northway, who converted the mill into a unique home.

After about two thirds of the renovations were complete, Mr Northway started to notice a number of small beetles around the window sills of the property, but at that point didn’t pay too much attention to them.

However, after living in the property for about 4 years, he started to notice that the number of beetles was increasing. The beetles also seemed to be dropping out of the structural timbers. On further investigation by Rentokil, signs of woodworm flight holes were discovered in the structural support beams of the roof. Mr Northway said; “I’d been aware of the problem for a while, but it got to the stage where we knew we had to treat the issue, as we were at risk of irreparable damage to the building’s structure, which could turn out to be potentially very expensive if left untreated”

The property was surveyed by Tom Quick from Rentokil Property Care. Tom immediately identified the problem as a Death Watch beetle infestation, along with fungal decay and a number of other species of woodboring beetles, which had been active within the oak timbers and required treatment, before any further damage resulted.

Mr Northway’s main concern was the continuing damage that could be caused to the property if the problem was left untreated. Rentokil’s solution was to use a water-based woodworm spray treatment for the structural timbers, which effectively breaks the life cycle of the beetles and controls the fungus.

After the treatment was completed, Mr Northway was left with peace of mind knowing that the treated areas were guaranteed by Rentokil for 30 Years, ensuring that he could enjoy the unique 18th Century Water Mill for many years to come.

“We chose Rentokil to complete the treatment at our property, because they are a big company that we trusted with the work, and they offer a long term guarantee”.