Traps to be laid in Mount Maunganui after stink bug discovery

Brown marmorated stink bugs are voracious eaters and if disturbed, they give off a nasty smell like that of a skunk or old socks and are especially difficult to eradicate. Photo / Getty Images

Traps designed specifically to lure brown marmorated stink bugs are being laid in Mount Maunganui, after a lone male bug was detected.

Biosecurity New Zealand said the live stink bug was found on a side table in the main entrance of a house in the Mount on December 15. It was not known where the stink bug came from and inquiries were continuing.

About a dozen traps will be laid and regularly checked around the area where the stink bug was found, and near facilities where imported items were taken to be checked before clearance for delivery in New Zealand.

A special detector dog trained to sniff out the stink bugs will also be used.

Kiwifruit Vine Health chief executive Stu Hutchings previously told the Bay of Plenty Times that a stink bug incursion could wipe $4.2 billion off the horticulture sector's export value.

Stink bugs are especially difficult to eradicate. They are voracious eaters and if disturbed, they give off a nasty smell like that of a skunk or old socks.

Tauranga Moana Biosecurity Capital co-chairman Graeme Marshall said the discovery of the bug was not necessarily all bad.

"I want to pay tribute to the person who found it and the action they took to report that, which is exactly what we want people to do. Everyone needs to be vigilant."