Australia and New Zealand are serious about the brown marmorated stink bug. So much so that they only trust a select few fumigation companies to treat the cargo being imported into their countries. If you’re not on the list of approved companies, you don’t get to fumigate, or heat treat their imports. That’s how much they don’t want the brown marmorated stink bug coming in. We sat down with Fumigation Director, Dr. Shannon Sked, and Business Development Manager, Jason Muir, about New Zealand and Australia’s stringent requirements about this invasive species.
Q: First, we want to thank both of you for speaking with us today! Let’s start with an easy question. Jason, what is this list the Australian and New Zealand governments have for the brown marmorated stink bug?
Jason: Yeah – sure. That’s an easy one! [laughs] Well, it’s a pretty exclusive list and they take it very seriously. We were one of the first – and still one of the very few – to be recognized by the Australian and New Zealand government as an approved vendor to pre-border treat for the brown marmorated stink bug. We’ve been on the list for 10+ years now – and that’s with having to re-register and be reapproved every 1 to 3 years. A representative from the New Zealand and Australian governments audits our site and evaluates the company, the technicians, and the procedures being used. They want to see your safety measures, the products you’re using, how diligent your documentation is, and finally, your treatment success. You fail and you can be removed from the list. They have nearly zero tolerance for invasive pests – the brown marmorated stink bug in particular – and we don’t blame them.
Q: So, what gets fumigated for these stink bugs when a shipment is going to Australia or New Zealand?
Jason: Everything! Between September 1 and April 31, anything going to Australia or New Zealand is required to be treated for the brown marmorated stink bug – no matter what port it’s coming from. Farm equipment, vehicles, – everything.
Q: What industries should know about this list – and these stink bug requirements?
Jason: ALL industries need to know about this! Freight forwarders, importers, exporters, logistics, warehousing – ANYONE sending anything to Australia or New Zealand. Even if you’re moving there and shipping your own personal items, you have to have it all treated. If you’re shipping anything to either one of those countries… you need to know this requirement and have treatments done by a company approved by their governments.
Q: What is it about this particular bug? Don’t we have stink bugs here in the US?
Jason: We do – we have both this one, which is considered invasive here, and the native species as well. While we have proper control methods for management here – especially for the native ones – in New Zealand and Australia they’re considered a potential invasive species, and they just do not want them there. But Dr. Sked can answer this one a little better.
Dr. Sked: Thanks Jason! Yeah, the brown marmorated stink bug is a serious, significant agricultural risk both here in the US and internationally outside of its native range in Asia. They damage and feed on fruits and vegetables – strawberries and peppers in particular. Not only can it destroy the fruit, but they also impact quality with even just moderate feeding, making the produce unsellable. Nobody wants a strawberry with stink bug damage from feeding wounds on it for their cereal. The feeding wounds also can leave plants susceptible to plant diseases and viruses, which can be devastating to farmers. People think these stink bugs are just a nuisance, but if you’ve got crops – or if you’re exporting crops – you think differently.
Q: It sounds like they can do a lot of damage! Are there any pests the United States has on a list like this?
Dr. Sked: Yes – all countries actually have their own list of pests that your shipment must be treated for before you can export into their port. So, this isn’t strange or exclusive to New Zealand and Australia. One major pest for us in the U.S. is the khapra beetle. It’s a relative to the carpet beetle but it will feed on just about everything and reproduces at an astonishing rate. We don’t have anything at the moment that could control it quickly and easily, so should it make its way into our country on a shipment, it would infiltrate everywhere – and would truly be catastrophic. Another example is the Mediterranean fruit fly. Should that pest come into our country, which it has from time to time, it would have the same impact – mostly on citrus, but also on many other fruits. For example, they were actually found in California in 2023. Imagine that state with all their citrus crops? The county they were found in plus several surrounding counties were quarantined (no agriculture moved in or out, basically) for almost a full year. How much did that cost them? Someone do that cost analysis!
Q: No wonder there are lists like that in every country! Not treating would be not only devastating to crops, but to the economy and our food sources. What happens to make sure these pests don’t travel into other countries?
Dr. Sked: Every country’s agricultural ministry has what’s called “phytosanitary measures” based on pest risk analysis from other parts of the world. For an example, our country’s USDA has a series of measures.
That’s just an example from the United States. Every country has their own.
Q: Why don’t the countries just fumigation their imports at their own ports?
DR SKED: These types of treatments can be five, even ten times more expensive in other countries and there re issues with developing scalable large operations in certain areas. We have perfected it here in the states – and at Western Fumigation in particular. Our treatments are incredibly effective, and we know and follow the safety regulations and protocols to the nth degree. Western Fumigation has even been involved in the development of some of the regulations! When you really think about it, we are less about pest control than we are in the business of keeping cargo moving in and out of our ports. While controlling pests is important, keeping our food supply moving while protecting our domestic farms is even more so.
Jason Muir is in charge of Business Development and has been with Western Fumigation since February of 2022. Dr. Sked started in the industry in 2003 and became Director of Western Fumigation in October of 2020.