Pests, diseases and weeds

Small, dense areas of tree plantation are common in rural and urban New Zealand. Because they're not managed as rigorously as commercial forests, they make good homes for new and invasive pests, weeds and diseases.

Make regular inspections

You can help prevent biosecurity threats by running regular inspections and being aware of new and ongoing biosecurity issues.

There are many ways to inspect your forest. The type of inspection you do will depend on how much forestry experience you have and the size of the forest.

• Condition monitoring – checking the average condition of your forest. This is useful for seeing patterns over time.
• Photo points – taking photos in the same place, regularly. These are useful for visually tracking changes.
• Surveying specific pests or diseases – a useful way to check levels of one specific condition in your forest. You'll need to know what symptoms or signs you're looking for.
• Symptom assessments – intensive inspection of all trees in a defined area for any and all signs of damage. Take recordings by section of tree (overall form, branches, buds and foliage, roots and collars, logs and stumps, leaders and stem).

Keep detailed notes of your inspections – including times, dates, weather conditions and GPS coordinates.