A fruit fly controlled area has been set up in Papatoetoe, South Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Maia Ingoe
Biosecurity NZ says it is making good progress in its response after an Oriental fruit fly was found in South Auckland.
The insect is considered one of the most "destructive and widespread" of all fruit flies and can jeopardise New Zealand's produce exports.
It was found in a surveillance trap in a backyard in Papatoetoe on Friday, and a suite of measures have since been put in place to look for any more flies, and prevent spreading.
Restrictions have been placed on two zones, within a 200-metre (Zone A) and 1.5-kilometre (Zone B) radius from the location where the insect was found on Gray Avenue.
In zone A, no fresh fruit or vegetables can be moved outside, regardless of whether they were bought or grown.
In zone B, which covers over 5000 households, all locally grown fruit and vegetables cannot be moved outside the area.
While there were already 187 surveillance traps in the Papatoetoe/Māngere area, an extra 105 traps were placed in the affected zones over the weekend.
About 300 special response bins - with insecticide - had also been placed in the area, so that Biosecurity NZ could deal with fruit and vegetable waste in the neighbourhood.
A close-up of a fruit fly trap. Photo: Supplied / MPI
It was important to quickly eradicate the insect, Biosecurity NZ regional commissioner Mike Inglis said.
"We've got to just make sure we close down as quickly as possible. It's possible that we'll find extra fruit flies we haven't found to date, the important thing is we focus on what we don't want, is a breeding population."
Biosecurity NZ had distributed educational leaflets to over 5000 households in the affected area, and had made good progress with engaging the community, he said.
Over the coming week, it would also be distributing leaflets in languages including Chinese, Hindi, te reo, Samoan and Tongan, to get the message across to the ethnically diverse community in Papatoetoe.
Biosecurity NZ was continuing to talk to businesses in the area, including golf clubs and some shops that sold food.
Inglis said there had been 12 times when fruit flies had been found in New Zealand, and had been successfully eradicated. The most recent instance was in Ōtara in 2019.
The Oriental fruit fly is native to Asia but has now spread to many warmer countries, especially as the climate warms.
Its maggots can feed on 300 different fruits and vegetables, particularly apple, guava, mango, peach, and pear.
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