August is Biosecurity Awareness Month

What is Biosecurity and why is it important for all of us to play our part in protecting the things we value.

Biosecurity is the exclusion, eradication or management of pests and diseases that pose a risk to our economy, our environment, our health and our cultural and social values.

Goods that are imported into NZ could carry harmful pests and disease; therefore, it is important to prevent them from becoming established.

August is Biosecurity Awareness Month and Storage4you would like to raise public awareness about the importance of biosecurity in protecting our unique environment, economy and way of life.

Guardians of the Border

Up to March 2025, AP's inspecting imported goods found 231 Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs, 223 dead and 8 alive. The list of countries that these bugs come from is expanding to include Europe, Asia and North America.

The bug is a threat to NZ because it feeds on more than 300 plant species, and if established here it could decimate our fruit and vegetable industries.

What do they look like:

Adult BMSB are a brown ‘shield’ shape and about the size of a 10-cent coin.

The easiest way to identify them is from the white bands on their antennae and alternating black and white markings on the abdomen. Its underside is a white/tan colour.

Stink bug eggs are light green, shaped like barrels, and are usually in clusters of 20 to 30.

BMSB adult with characteristic markings circled.

What to do if you find a bug:

If you think you’ve found a brown marmorated stink bug – don't kill it.