Since the start of the high-risk season in September 2019 there have been 57 Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs (BMSB) found, about a quarter of what was found at this time last season, indicating management processes – especially those undertaken offshore – are working.

We are nearing the end of the high-risk season for BMSB with none of the bugs found in New Zealand for several weeks now.

However, as we move in to COVID-19 Alert Level 3 and many more goods are moving again (including out of containers and transitional facilities where they may have been in storage for weeks) growers and the public are reminded to keep an eye out for stink bugs and other potentially hitchhiking pests (dead or alive) that could have been hiding out in stationary cargo during the lockdown.

KVH put out a press release on Tuesday reminding people of the importance of being extra vigilant when opening either new to New Zealand parcels or non-essential items that have been in storage while we were at Alert Level 4. You can read the release here.

More detail about this year’s high-risk season can be read in the latest monthly KVH BMSB risk update, which includes data reported by Biosecurity New Zealand.