Borers love music too
Electric guitar with borer damage
Summer means Big Day Out music festivals around Australia. Gold Coast gigs kept AQIS busy when more than 34 000 kgs of band equipment from 11 acts arrived on a flight from New Zealand to Brisbane.
It took 12 road crew, five semi-trailers and two fork lift drivers to transport the gear for inspection at a local quarantine-approved premises.
Equipment included guitar cases, sound equipment, band wardrobes, stage back-drops and two large inflatable air dancers. The only biosecurity risk item was a box of herbal tea containing orange peel, cinnamon bark and slippery elm bark that the importer elected to have destroyed. All equipment made it to the Gold Coast on time for a huge weekend of music.
In stark contrast to these professional musos, many aspiring performers pick up cheap copies of guitars overseas. These imports may be a path to fame and fortune for the owner but they present a high risk due to exotic pests, such as borers.
The musical aspiration of a budding Brisbane guitarist struck an unpopular chord last year when borers were found in his guitar imported from China.
An infestation like this may not be immediately obvious during the import process. Due to the cryptic nature of some timber pests, damage is often not evident for months or even years afterwards.
Read more Quarantine Hits