No, you can't pack a shillelagh in your carry-on: TSA finds cudgel at Idaho airport

Many air travelers likely know they can't bring items like oversize liquids and pocket knives in their carry-on luggage, but what about a shillelagh?

Transportation Security Administration officers recovered one – an Irish walking stick and cudgel or club – at Boise Airport in Idaho last month, which the agency featured on Twitter as part of its Prohibited Items Week.

"So we had to Google what, exactly, a shillelagh is, but we know that anything that’s made with the intent to bludgeon someone else is not allowed as a carry-on item," the agency tweeted on Wednesday.

The agency's TSA_Pacific account said in a tweet last month that the wooden tool would be "perfect" for packing in a checked bag.

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TSA has featured a number of other banned goods throughout the week, including torch lighters, a double-edged tactical knife, and a gun with 20 rounds of ammo.

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While a shillelagh may be a relative rarity in carry-ons, firearm detections are on the rise. TSA officers found 6,542 firearms at airport security checkpoints across the country in 2022, up from 5,972 the year before, according to a news release from the agency. The numbers also mark an uptick from 2019 – prior to the COVID-19 pandemic – when 4,432 were found.

Among the guns detected last year, around 88% were loaded.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.