Bug Eater Media Articles

Australian Parliament Testimonial

BOGONG MOTH TRAPS

The following dialogues are extracts from a Hansard entry of April 2001 highlighting the proven effectiveness of the Bug Eater insect trap.

Mr NEWELL: My question without notice is to Minister for Local Government, Minister for Regional Development, and Minister for Rural Affairs. How is the Government helping innovative regional companies create jobs and investment out of bogong moth plagues?
Mr WOODS: The honourable member hails from Tweed Heads where the magnificent Black Watch boats that are exported all over the world are now built.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call honourable member for Hornsby to order for the third time.
Mr WOODS: The Black Watch boat company now manufactures in New South Wales. They used to manufacture in Queensland.
Mr CARR: We got them here.
Mr WOODS: That is right. The Premier visited them and opened the new facility. That is a good news story for New South Wales, and I have another one. It is seven months since the Olympics and Paralympics and one of the more unusual images during the Olympics was the millions of bogong moths that at one stage invaded the stadium. For a little while during the closing ceremony the moths shared the limelight with the world-famous Australian opera singer, Yvonne Kenny. The international media carried stories about the bogong moths.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition will remain silent.
Mr WOODS: The Leader of the Opposition would do well to listen about moths. People want moths that eat their clothes and do other things to go away. At that time they were the world's most famous moths with 3.5 billion viewers. Quick thinking by Olympic organisers and a New South Wales country business fixed the problem. A company called No Bugs Pty Ltd that is based in Forster on the State's mid north coast came up with an ingenious product—an Australian first—to handle the invasion of bogong moths.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I place the honourable member for Coffs Harbour on two calls to order.
Mr WOODS: It is a trap that attracts and captures moths. Using a black light to attract the moths, and a fan to blow them into a water tray, No Bugs reckons they caught millions of moths. The invention is clean and green: No poison, no pesticides.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! If members of the Opposition continue to interject I will place all members of the Opposition on three calls to order.
Mr WOODS: The traps are cheap—$200—and they were a great success. Hats off to Ray Webber and Jenni Timbs who are the Aussie battlers behind this project. No Bugs perfectly illustrates the innovation of country New South Wales. The New South Wales Government is working in partnership to help those industries grow to create jobs and investment in Forster, where No Bugs is located, in the Tweed where Black Watch boats are made, in Tamworth where the Premier went recently, and right across New South Wales. The company previously manufactured the product in the United States of America. It is now in Forster. The company is offering its unique product to a range of industries. Tomato farmers in Ballina are using the Bug Eater to monitor what types of bugs are attacking their crops, which has allowed them to limit their spraying to specific types of bugs. That saves farmers money and provides better quality tomatoes for consumers. No Bugs is also an alternative to those noisy and messy bug zappers. Those zappers are not recommended for use in restaurants or in other food preparation areas. Asian cuisine manufacturers Witwood Food Products, of Chester Hill, is one company using the product as a safer alternative to bug zappers. The bug eater is unique in that it does not electrocute or poison the moths. They are trapped, and can be disposed of properly later. The company now produces 9,000 traps each year. No Bugs employs 10 people and plans to double its work force within two years, with the assistance of the State Government. It expects to export the product to East Timor and New Zealand. It is confident of expanding its export markets, taking advantage of the low Australian dollar. The company believes it can take the trap all over the world. In fact, over the past year, it has received expressions of interest from more than 40 countries. Currently, the company is negotiating with a Filipino company to take the trap to South-East Asia. Australian retail giant Harvey Norman, with 121 stores nationally and overseas, has recognised the genius of this product. No Bugs recently signed a deal with the Harvey Norman chain that will see Harvey Norman become the exclusive national retailer of this bug trap. Selected Mitre 10 stores are also looking at stocking No Bugs. Soon, everyone will be able to buy their own No Bugs bug eater. In fact, No Bugs has declared war on the army lawn grub, which is wreaking havoc on the North Coast. Army lawn grubs are destroying household lawns all over the North Coast. No Bugs tackles the problem before it starts, by attracting and killing moths before they become lawn grubs. The bug eater also catches sandflies, fleas, Christmas beetles and mozzies. We are extremely happy to be helping innovative country businesses like No Bugs.