In Reply to: shells posted by stevenb on Monday, 25. May 2009 at 07:03 Bali Time:
I brought back a lot of shells in April. I cleaned them before I brought them back by pouring boiling water inside them and rinsing out all the dirt and a few little insects that had crawled in them.
I also brought back a lot of woven placmats and baskets. (Nothing that had water hyacinth or banana though.) Before I packed them to bring back, I put them inside a big plastic bag and sprayed them thoroughly with fly spray. Left them 10 minutes then took them out and banged them on the table to knock out all the dirt and any dead insects. The customs officer who checked all my stuff said that this was a good idea. As long as the stuff is clean, and no live insects or insect eggs, when they check it, it is usually okay.