Bay of Plenty Regional Council released a new privet-eating insect at a trial site in Bethlehem this week in an effort to improve control of the unpopular pest plant.
Council senior biosecurity officer Shane Grayling said he was excited about the release of privet lace bug (Leptoypha hospita), but said it will be a few years before the council would know how effective the insect would be for controlling privet.
"A lot of people blame privet for their allergic reactions, so it's great to have a potential new control option. Both the nymphs and adult privet lace bugs feed by piercing and sucking on privet leaves, causing dieback in the branch tips.
"Weather conditions, predator insects and a range of other variables can affect how well a new biological control agent establishes, reproduces and feeds.
"It's only by trialling it in the field that we'll see what situations it can perform best in. We won't be distributing the privet lace bug more widely until we've seen how well it works and built up enough stock at the trial sites," Mr Grayling said.