A QUICK-witted traveller has averted a potential stink bug attack in Australia earlier in January.
Melbourne woman Eleanor Rigg had returned home to Victoria via Italy after a long stint overseas.
While in hotel quarantine she noticed the unwelcome stowaway in her room after opening her backpack.
Ms Rigg rang Australia's biosecurity hotline and quickly contained the insect in a glass.
It turned out to be a brown marmorated stink bug, which is a declared biosecurity pest.
Head of biosecurity for the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment Andrew Tongue praised Ms Rigg for reporting the bug.
"They're prolific breeders and if they became established in Australia, would pose significant risk to our pome, stonefruit and vegetable industries," Mr Tongue said.
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The biosecurity boss says the stink bug has caused significant losses to the pome and stonefruit industries overseas, while citing the risk a stink bug invasion poses to hundreds of host plants in Australia.
"These bugs are also voracious feeders and don't respond well to insecticides," he said.
Australia's chief plant protection officer Gabrielle Vivian-Smith said the vigilance shown by the traveller was extraordinary and important for the protection of Australia's environmental and economic collateral.
"I think most people want to do the right thing and protect Australia from hazardous pests and disease, but to have the foresight to spot the bug, contain it and then report it, is wonderful," Ms Vivian-Smith said.
"I'd personally like to thank her."
The pest has the potential to hide in some 300 host plants in Australia.
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