Quote:
Originally Posted by scel
The primary concern is mud/silt from the riverbed---that is where the organism lives. Rinsing any physical contaminants is the most important thing you can do, followed by thoroughly drying the gear.
This is why felt is the worst offender: the mud/silt can be driven deeply into the felt and it can retain the water to keep the organism alive. Because of the high pressure due to walking driving the mud and water into the sole, even disinfecting cannot penetrate the depth of the felt without using something like a pressure washer.
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I agree the felt poses the greatest risk because that stuff probably takes weeks to dry out completely, but wading boots without felt still pose a risk. There are probably some people who think that just because they don't have felt bottomed boots that they don't need to worry about anything, but that's not true. The organism can harbor in mud, aquatic plants and standing water, so if your boots retain water, they should be cleaned and dried thoroughly before entering another body of water whether you have felt soles or not.