Artwork? New sponsor? No, mill ‘De Wasp’ tackles the variegated rodent beetle

The large, yellow/black colossus stands out enormously in the green polder landscape. “It’s been packed to combat the beetle and the woodworm. The mill has been treated to pump gas into it, so that the insects get intoxicated deep into the wood and die. We really need to eradicate them 100 percent,” he said. miller Johan Rentenaar.

holes

The mill from 1597 is owned by the Hollands Noorderkwartier water board. It is one of the ten remaining mills from the time of the reclamation of Zijpe. Because the mill consists for the most part of wood, it is important that the rodent beetle does not get a chance. Rentenaar: “I can really see holes. What you see on the outside is almost nothing, but the wood is hollowed out from the inside.”

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The mill is amply fenced off with yellow/black ribbons for the safety of passers-by and the miller himself, says a spokesperson for the Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier: “Because if the insects die, you can imagine that the gas is not healthy for humans either. is.” The water board also investigated whether bats or other animal species were present in the mill. “At the end of the week, the mill will be unpacked and aired again,” according to the water board.

F side

And of course the miller already gets questions about his striking mill: “Yes, it is a special sight. A colleague of mine already said that it colors well at SV Koedijk, but of course it has nothing to do with that.” Yet it could just be that busloads of football supporters are on their way to pose. “Ho, ho, no F-side from Vitesse here,” laughs miller Johan Rentenaar.