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Are Your Study Abroad Students Packing Pests? 

5 things study abroad professionals can do to protect their students, natural resources, and the environment 

With over 300,000 U.S. students studying abroad each year, study abroad students are a significant source of mobility. 

Over the years, the Don’t Pack a Pest (DPAP) for Academic Travelers program has collaborated with study abroad organizations to conduct focus groups. The purpose was to understand students’ awareness of invasive species and learn about their packing habits. 

We found that an astounding number of students unintentionally brought potentially harmful agricultural items back into the U.S. from abroad. A few of these students have even faced fines! 

Some of these students thought these items were okay to pack because their program gave them incorrect information.  Students and professionals stated that they wouldn’t have brought these items in the first place or would have declared them if they knew about the potential consequences. 

As a study abroad professional, you have the power to make an impact. You can help prevent billions of dollars in agricultural damage, protect the U.S. food supply, and protect your students. 

Here are five things that study abroad professionals can do to prevent invasive species from entering the U.S. and protect their students from hefty fines at customs. 

#1 Incorporate Information About Declaring into Pre-Departure Orientations 

Making students, faculty, and staff aware of the impact of traveling with potentially harmful agricultural items is a multi-step approach. Providing information at orientations is one of those steps.

A simple way to do this is by incorporating a slide or two with helpful packing and declaration information for your students. 

DPAP for Academic Travelers has templates that schools have used at orientations as a resource for your institution. 

Additionally, you can have study abroad alumni and international students share their personal experiences traveling with agricultural items and declaring them with their peers.

If you need content and inspiration, here are web resources you can use. 

#2 Participate in Focus Groups 

Don’t Pack a Pest’s Academic Traveler program regularly holds focus groups at partner institutions. These focus groups assess student awareness around packing and declaring items at customs. 

At these focus groups, we found that students want more information about packing to save stress at customs and do the right thing. 

Institutions have taken findings and implemented them into their programming to better prepare students for their travels. 

The DPAP for Academic Travelers program can work with schools one-on-one to conduct free focus groups to discover insightful information about your students and faculty. As a result, we can customize resources for you.  

#3 Disseminate Information in Newsletters and Social Media

An efficient way to distribute information about responsible packing is through newsletters and social media at your organization. 

You can use these resources from our website, Instagram, and Facebook for content. Our posts are easy to share, so you can quickly repost. 

Additionally, we are always happy to answer any questions you may have about our resources or materials. 

#4 Attend an Info Session 

We regularly hold info sessions collaborating with our agency partners to provide up-to-date information about safe packing and declaring items. 

Our info sessions are always free. 

Invite your staff to learn helpful information about going through customs, declaring potentially prohibited items, and advising students.

Info sessions are also great places to ask questions and network with agencies and other participants. 

#5 Join Our Community of Partners

Join academic travelers from across the nation in our Community of Partners program.  

This group is a network of institutions from across the United States committed to the Don’t Pack a Pest Academic Traveler mission. 

Group members enjoy resources, networking opportunities, workshops, and support. 

It is free to join, and there are no specific commitments. All you need is an interest in protecting our natural resources and providing helpful information for your students, staff, and faculty. 

Are you looking for more information about the DPAP for Academic Travelers program? Visit our website or email us at academictraveler@oregonstate.edu.

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Don’t Pack a Pest for Academic Travelers: Teaching Travelers to Pack Safe, Pack Smart, and Pack Aware

Market place with different fruit displayed

Imagine you studied abroad in Taiwan, and you LOVED the pork floss you ate there. You don’t remember seeing anything similar sold in stores back home in the U.S., so you buy some to take with you. 

When you get the customs declaration, you don’t declare it because you think that a cooked and processed product should be no problem. Plus, you figure they won’t find it anyway, and it would be faster not to declare. Then, when customs officers ask you at the passport passenger clearance line if you have any agricultural items to declare, you don’t say anything. 

The customs officer finds it anyway and fines you the maximum penalty of $1,000.  

Countless study abroad students, international students, and faculty leaders have experienced this scenario at the airport. Knowing what foods, agricultural items, and natural products you can and can’t bring back to the U.S. from abroad are confusing, and going through customs can be very stressful. 

That’s where the Don’t Pack a Pest for Academic Travelers program comes in. 

We are a university-based education program working with international education professionals, faculty, and students across the country to educate them about the risks of bringing in prohibited items. 

Our campaign helps empower travelers like you to go through customs with confidence and protect our nation’s precious natural resources.  

Here is everything you need to know about our program. 

Don’t Pack a Pest forAcademic Travelers Program

Red text that says Don't Pack a Pest with a red suitcase and a beagle.

How did our program start? 

The California (CFDA) and Florida (FDFA) Department of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) founded our parent organization, Don’t Pack a Pest, in the 1990s. 

Their mission is to educate travelers about the risks of carrying prohibited food, plants, and other agricultural products that could harbor pests, diseases, or become invasive through the items travelers carry in their luggage and encourage all passengers to declare these items for U.S. Customs.   

The Oregon State University Sea Grant expanded this initiative to integrate a collaborative research-based approach that focuses on academic travelers. The Academic Traveler program collaborates with study abroad and international offices, international agriculture offices, and traveling faculty and scholars to further the Don’t Pack a Pest mission.  

By developing relevant education and outreach informed through research with academic travelers and international and study abroad institutions, we continue to tailor information and outreach relevant to the changing needs of our academic institutional partners and the programs students, international scholars, and faculty they serve. 

Why Preventing Pests, Diseases and Invasive Species Is Important to Our Food Supplies and Biosecurity 

Photo of pigs.

Each year, invasive species are responsible for $120 billion in damages and control costs in the U.S. alone. 

In the United States, giant hogweed seeds were the most confiscated item at West Coast ports of entry from 2005 to 2015. 

People commonly use these seeds for cooking, but when planted, they can be very harmful. 

The plant’s sap has toxic chemicals that can cause severe burns. It has invaded natural lands on the West Coast and has become a danger to those who encounter it. 

Additionally, Swine Fever started devastating China’s pig population in 2019 and continues to spread worldwide. 

There is no vaccine available, and farmers had to cull 200 million pigs. As a result, pork prices increased 70%, putting an enormous strain on the country’s resources. 

This is a bleak example of what could happen in the U.S. if we don’t prevent invasive species from entering. This disease entered China’s ports of entry through clothing, soil, water, and pork products, such as the pork floss mentioned above. 

Seemingly small things that people bring through entry ports can significantly impact the environment, agriculture, and economy.

Even travelers bringing in a prohibited item can jeopardize our resources and the livelihood of millions of people. 

Working with Schools to Prevent “Packing a Pest” 

Group of people on a Zoom call.

According to Open Doors, 1,095,299 international students studied in the U.S., and 341,751 U.S. students studied abroad during the 2018-2019 school year. 

These travelers are a significant source of mobility moving in and out of the U.S. 

Our focus group research shows that many of these students have packed prohibited items. These items include dry noodle packets, fruit and vegetables, herbs and medicine, plant products, and animal products. 

The Don’t Pack a Pest for Academic Travelers has worked with college and university partners to: 

  • Conduct focus groups to gather data about students’ invasive species knowledge
  • Create tailored information for academic travelers in the form of brochures, presentations, and other media 
  • Provide research opportunities for students and faculty 
  • Present findings at the Forum on Education Abroad with university and college collaborators  

Ways to Become Involved 

Group of five people in front of a school

Small actions can significantly impact preventing invasive species from entering the U.S. 

We found in our focus groups that students and academic partners don’t want to pack a pest or get fined. 

In our scenario above, the study abroad student could have avoided a heavy fine if they knew there’s no harm in declaring their pork floss. In addition, they might not have brought the item in the first place if they had known about its potential impact on agriculture in the U.S. 

Don’t Pack a Pest for Academic Travelers and institutions can work together using a research-based approach to prevent something like this from happening and protect our precious natural resources. 

This year, we are launching a Community of Partners program to provide institutions with support, resources, and guidance to help educate their constituents about the impact of packing prohibited agricultural items. 

We offer ready-made and custom materials, focus group planning, professional development opportunities and workshops, and networking to our collaborators. 

Are you looking for more information about our Community of Partners program? Visit our website or contact us at academictraveler@oregonstate.edu. 

Resources 

Don’t Pack a Pest Website 

Don’t Pack a Pest for Academic Travelers Instagram and Facebook

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Resources: 

The Electronic Kiosk

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/apc

Know Before You Visit:

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/know-before-you-visit

USCBP Frontline PreClearance article and videos.  This is a good resource for International administrators.  Check out the videos

https://www.cbp.gov/frontline/frontline-preclearance

Welcome to the USA.  USCBP Video on the passenger  arrival experience