Remain calm, we’re fortunately not talking about the real thing.

The Tauranga Moana Biosecurity Capital (TMBC) team KVH is part of has had a banner installed on one of the GrainCorp silos in Mount Maunganui, raising awareness about the importance of keeping New Zealand stink bug free.

We’re in the high-risk season for Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) and the banner includes a giant image showing what to look out for, as well as the tag line ‘catch it snap it report it’ and the number for the Biosecurity New Zealand 0800 hotline. To top it all off and add to the visual there are also several stink bugs (stickers) crawling their way round the tank.

The banner is in a high traffic area (along Hewletts Road, near the corner of Totara Street) and we’ve already had a lot of great feedback about how noticeable it is. It will be up for a few more weeks, until the end of the regions Spotlight on Biosecurity Week in late October.

You may have also read in SunLive over the weekend an article about the banner and work being done by industry groups to keep this unwanted pest out of New Zealand.