What's the deal with boot cleaning upon return from Africa???? A couple guys I know where delayed at customs upon re-entry into US to clean their boots???? Can somebody give me the skinny on this.....tried to find info on US Customs web-site but that was 15 minutes of my life I won't get back!!!! Thanks

if you have been in an area with livestock, US Customs will want to disinfect the soles of your boots. They do so by placing your boots in a shallow pan containing some chemicals.

Hoof and mouth disease is a serious problem in many areas of Africa. We don't want any of that here.

Be sure to pack your bag with the boots on top, so you can get to them easily.

Just before you go through customs its common for a TSA agent to pull hunters aside and ask if you've been hunting in a foreign country.
Really not a big deal, basically you pull your boots out of your bag and they spray them with some sort of solution.

They've been doing this for at least 10 yrs that I know about. There is a question on your CBP form asking you if you have been on any farms or ranches with livestock.

Last month in Atlanta on our return, we got ours sprayed again. The people doing it were very courteous and did a good job, took our plastic bag the boots had been in, and put each in an individual bag as it was sprayed. Painless process and only added about 10 minutes to our return.

Customs does the same thing returning from Nicaragua. We carry an extra pair of cheap canvass hiking boots with us and leave them behind.

Jim

The Customs guys in Atlanta totally forgot to dip our boots on return until I reminded them. Last thing I want to do is bring H&M back to one of my friends' cattle.

As was mentioned above, keep them near the top of your bags and easy to get to. One guy was at the counter digging through a huge bag, looking for Boot #2. Kinda funny (until it happens to you)..

I hope that the threat of deasease is not a serious one. Customs does a piss poor and hyper-bureaucratic job on this front. Apparently their instructions are: "Hunters returning from Africa, spray one pair of boots".

When we returned from Africa and were identified as hunters, Customs in Atlanta asked us each for ONE pair of boots, which they proceeded to dip/spray, then put the treated footwear still dribbling yellow liquid into a plastic sack to go back in our baggage. Great.

But they only asked for one pair of boots, regardless of how many pairs of footwear you may have had with you. In fact, for much of the afternoon prior to boarding the plane in the evening, we had hiked around a game farm in the very hiking shoes I wore home on the plane. If there was a chance of any contamination, it was much more on the hiking shoes on my very feet than the hunting boots which I had cleaned prior to packing them. But nary a word was said about either the shoes on our feet or any second pair of boots which might be somewhere in my baggage.

What a joke.

i always wear my Courtney boots when traveling and several times they have had me step in a shallow plastic pan of disinfectant and that was it- no spray or other treatment of the upper leather. several customs people have commented on how much they like the leather grain- which is very interesting since they are elephant hide and the exact duplicate of a pair on display in a case in the ATL international terminal showing a pair of confiscated Courteney's because they were made from elephant. i suppose one of these days i might come home barefooted but the boots are so comfortable that i like to travel wearing them. also saves weight on checked luggage.

I wear a pair of boots onto the plane then immediately change to a pair of slippers from my carryon. On the way home put your boots on your feet shortly before landing then when asked by customs just tell them you are wearing them and step into the solution and be on your way.

That's what I do as well. Saves opening up the old luggage!

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
i always wear my Courtney boots when traveling and several times they have had me step in a shallow plastic pan of disinfectant and that was it- no spray or other treatment of the upper leather. several customs people have commented on how much they like the leather grain- which is very interesting since they are elephant hide and the exact duplicate of a pair on display in a case in the ATL international terminal showing a pair of confiscated Courteney's because they were made from elephant. i suppose one of these days i might come home barefooted but the boots are so comfortable that i like to travel wearing them. also saves weight on checked luggage.

Happened to a friend of mine only his boots were sea turtle. He ended up flying the last leg of his trip in socks.

Thanks all for the info!!!!!!!!!

Didn't even ask about boots, which I had on top of everything know that since we were on a farm they were supposed to be sprayed. The unarmed Customs guy was more interested in my sealed back of Gemsbuck jerky and took that! Only knew it was in there because I listed it. I think he had it for a snack!

I've always packed the boots toward the top of the bag anticipating a disinfect upon reetryas others have suggested.

This past March, coming back from Tanzania, the Agriculture guy told me that if I simply washed my boots in a mild detergent over there and told them so, he wouldn't even have to unpack them and treat them. Don't know if that's true, or he was just lazy, because I hadn't washed them, so he treated them and packed them in plastic bags before returning to my luggage.

i make it a point to visit a farm wearing all my packed footwear no matter what country i'm visiting. if your not officially visiting a farm, have the taxi driver stop by one along the road and jump the fence in with the cattle, jump back and forth until all shoes are used. this way there is no lying that you wore all your shoes on a farm.

the "have u visited a farm " line at customs is always shorter and quicker than customary procedures.

all your footwear is cleaned and put in plastic bags. unfortunately they don't polish your shoes.

ask for an extra bag or two as a bonus. they are large and strong enough to accommodate a couple salmon (except for large kings ).

just a travel tip from an experienced traveler.

Dear Bakken

I always use my tooth brush from the trip to clean boots.

That sort of thing is very strict in Aus.

Every thing should have more than 1 use and gives me an excuss to get a new on once I get home.

Regards Mark

I saw a fellow have his Courtneys confiscated because they were suspected to be elephant. He was told they would be sent to him if they were not elephant. They were obviously elephant hide and the agent knew it. He tried the "I don't know what they are made from" but that didn't fly. If you get elephant hide boots, you may risk losing them.

quote:

Originally posted by pigslayer:
i make it a point to visit a farm wearing all my packed footwear no matter what country i'm visiting. if your not officially visiting a farm, have the taxi driver stop by one along the road and jump the fence in with the cattle, jump back and forth until all shoes are used. this way there is no lying that you wore all your shoes on a farm.

the "have u visited a farm " line at customs is always shorter and quicker than customary procedures.

all your footwear is cleaned and put in plastic bags. unfortunately they don't polish your shoes.

ask for an extra bag or two as a bonus. they are large and strong enough to accommodate a couple salmon (except for large kings ).

just a travel tip from an experienced traveler.

i have never seen a "have u visited a farm" line entering the states- and i travel abroad a lot. what airport are you coming through??

When I came back from RSA with my son last year, the customs agent might as well have been "Sammie the Shoeshine boy" - he took our hunting boots and proceeded to hand scrub the soles and sides of the soles with various brushes and chemicals; and wipe down the uppers.

The shoes looked new when he was done. I wish he would have had a tip jar It was really that well done.

LJS,
Was the guy wearing them or had them in his bags? Were they brand new or well worn?

Do I need a 4457 for by boots now too ?

quote:

Originally posted by LJS:
I saw a fellow have his Courtneys confiscated because they were suspected to be elephant. He was told they would be sent to him if they were not elephant. They were obviously elephant hide and the agent knew it. He tried the "I don't know what they are made from" but that didn't fly. If you get elephant hide boots, you may risk losing them.

Why would they confiscate elephant hide boots. they are legal here. I have had at least 10 pair of ele hide boots made here in the USA.

i live next to a dairy farm, thus i request that they do my boots whether or not i've been on a farm

Just returned from Zim hunt this past Saturday though Atlanta. Even though I checked that I was not hunting on cattle or livestock ranch on CPB form - sprayed anyway. Not really a big deal as they did this while we were waiting to clear rifles. Keep boots in trash bag inside luggage. TSA also had bags on hand.

If you read the form you fill out on the plane while returning to the US you will find it has the question about visiting a farm.

jdollar,, if you travel abroad alot you have filled out the question or should have everytime you re enter the country,, it is on the customs declaration form, blue piece of paper wher it asks your passport number, method of travel,, articles and value to claim, currency[if you have over 10,000 dollars cash etc,, never a problem for me,,,,]number of family members with you etc. I have answered no before and left my boots in Africa and had them disinfect the tennis shoes I was wearing in Atlanta,,, in Dallas we have gone through customs with replicas of spears and bows hanging out of our bags and they never even looked at us,,,,When I wear "casual" and not hunting type clothing I get little attention in most airports...Pretty much luck of the draw,, I have said yes I have been on farms before and they never paid attention to it as well.

my statement was in response to the guy who stated there is a line at returning customs labelled " have you been on a farm?" i have never seen such a sign and i doubt anyone else has. i am familiar with the question about have you been on a farm and i always answer no because i haven't. i have been on a free range hunting concession, which to my way of thinking is a far cry from a farm or ranch. if they asked have you been out in the bush, then the answer is yes- but we all know that's not what they ask.

quote:

Originally posted by pigslayer:
i make it a point to visit a farm wearing all my packed footwear no matter what country i'm visiting. if your not officially visiting a farm, have the taxi driver stop by one along the road and jump the fence in with the cattle, jump back and forth until all shoes are used. this way there is no lying that you wore all your shoes on a farm.

the "have u visited a farm " line at customs is always shorter and quicker than customary procedures.

all your footwear is cleaned and put in plastic bags. unfortunately they don't polish your shoes.

ask for an extra bag or two as a bonus. they are large and strong enough to accommodate a couple salmon (except for large kings ).

just a travel tip from an experienced traveler.

frankly this sounds like BS. there is no line " have u visited a farm " line at customs that i have ever seen. if you are indeed an experienced traveler, please tell us what international airport where it can be found( as i asked in an earlier post)

jdollar,

I think pigslayer's post is just a wee bit tongue-in-cheek.

if anyone cares the form is a Customs Declaration form 6059B, Line 11 says:
I[we] are bringing:
a. fruits, nuts, etc
b.meats, animal products, etc
c. disease agents, cultures.,,, {seriously}
d.soil or have been on a farm/ranch/pasture
12. I have been in close proximety of livestock


I think those are the exact words or are close enough to what I remember from a few weeks ago

be prepared to have your shoes treated because they will sometimes put those wet stinking shoes right back into your luggage so I always put a trash bag in the suitcase just in case, I would say they treat mine less than 25% of the time.

I have checked the box that says I've been on a farm and have never had my boots cleaned in returning from South Africa.