Biosecurity officials have declared victory in a long battle to eradicate an Aussie invader at an Auckland site.
The termite species coptotermes acinaciformis was identified in the house and garden of a residential property in Coatesville five years ago.
An investigation determined they most likely arrived with railway sleepers brought from Australia in the mid 1990s and used for landscaping.
The live termites were eliminated by April 2008. The project then switched to a monitoring phase for the remainder of the required five-year period.
Bruce Philip from the Ministry for Primary Industries said the termite could cause significant harm to New Zealand's forests, trees and timber structures.
