We use dpatch for patch handling inside our package(s).  Please see
/usr/share/doc/dpatch/README.source.gz (if you have installed dpatch) for
documentation about dpatch.
Since Version 1.5.0 we are repackaging the upstream tarball to stop providing:
 * perlmods/
 * contrib/
Therefor you should use the script debian/bin/repack.sh:
 repack.sh <upstream-tarball>
Creating a sufficiant tarball from latest git snapshot:
* Install 'autoconf automake' beside the build-depends
* Following http://nagiosplugins.org/node/96 you need
  - cd /tmp/nagiosplugins
  - tools/setup
  - ./configure
  - make dist