The Ministry for Primary Industries’ two colourful cargo containers on its Fieldays site were open to the public this year, with the children and adults passing through getting to see and learn about the Queensland fruit fly.

By day four more than 100 traps were in place, and by day six 200 traps were in place out to 1.5km from the find.

One week in, lab staff were looking for fruit fly eggs and inspecting up to 300kg of fruit daily.

Within 14 days full trapping had passed with no further flies detected, MPI was able to lift restrictions and call the response off – and New Zealand remains fruit fly-free.

MPI’s Fieldays stand also worked as an awareness tool to educate people on New Zealand’s biosecurity threats.

MPI’s Fieldays organiser Gabrielle Frayling says the ministry’s site offered “a really fun, friendly way to get across a very serious message in some respects”.

“People sometimes don’t understand why they have to discard fruit or clean hiking boots they bring into the country, asking if it really does make that much of a difference.

“The answer is: yes, it does make a huge difference. If we detect one pest – such as a fruit fly – we take it very seriously because it is a threat to New Zealand’s biosecurity and that’s why we mobilise so many staff and resources.”

MPI also promoted its pre-border work at New Zealand’s entry points – again something most people don’t realise – with some interesting facts.

“For example, we have about 5000 cats and dogs coming into the country every year and they are all checked well before they even get to New Zealand – most people wouldn’t even think about this.”