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Europe is home to many agricultural pests that are not found in the United States and soil is a natural hideout for them. This is why cleaning everything that collects dirt before you send it stateside is so important. These pests can cause great damage to the U.S. farming economy.
“You can unwittingly introduce greedy pests into the U.S.A.,” said Bill Johnson, director of the U.S. European Command Customs Executive Agency. “It only takes one bit of soil on your car, lawn furniture, bicycle, field gear, shoe or boot.”
Vehicles and military equipment are especially prone to infestation by dirt, mud and soil, he added.
“It is so important to clean everything you ship or mail home – whether it is as a private person or as part of your work,” Mr. Johnson stated.
It is also why USEUCOM has a border clearance program that checks personal property and military shipments destined for the United States to prevent any pests from spreading.
“For example, the burrowing nematode is a tiny worm not native to the states,” Mr. Johnson said. “But it could hide in the mud on your boots. If you took that mud stateside, the nematode eggs could later hatch and attack the roots of citrus trees.”
Losses on infested trees cost approximately $2.5 million annually. The golden nematode attacks potatoes and tomatoes, reducing yields by as much as 80 percent.
It threatens annual crop yields of more than $1 billion.Call a military customs office for details or visit www.hqusareur.army.mil/opm/uscustoms.htm.
