Keep the reports coming

We often get phone calls and emails from members of the public and growers who think they may have found a pest or bug from our most unwanted list. This is a good thing – it’s exactly the type of behaviour we want to see as it shows people are on the lookout and aware of not just biosecurity risk in general, but also of the look and size of the organisms that are considered the highest risk to the kiwifruit industry.

A lot of people are on orchards for harvest at this time of the year so we’re getting an increased number of reports – six so far this week infact. They have all turned out to be native brown soldier bugs which are very similar but can be differentiated because they’re much smaller.

The message remains the same for growers, contractors and anyone else on-orchard: stay vigilant, be on the lookout, and report anything unusual. Please take a photo (very rarely will we need to see the actual specimen) of what you find and send it to us at [email protected] so we can have a look at it for you. Don’t be afraid to report any suspect finds – the sooner you alert us the more we can do to help.