diff --git a/crates/wiggle/src/borrow.rs b/crates/wiggle/src/borrow.rs
index 992ecddeb5..2519f44dae 100644
--- a/crates/wiggle/src/borrow.rs
+++ b/crates/wiggle/src/borrow.rs
@@ -11,23 +11,36 @@ pub struct BorrowChecker {
 }
 
 impl BorrowChecker {
-    pub fn new() -> Self {
+    /// A `BorrowChecker` manages run-time validation of borrows from a `GuestMemory`. It keeps
+    /// track of regions of guest memory which are possible to alias with Rust references (via the
+    /// `GuestSlice` and `GuestStr` structs, which implement `std::ops::Deref` and
+    /// `std::ops::DerefMut`. It also enforces that `GuestPtr::read` and `GuestPtr::write` do not
+    /// access memory with an outstanding borrow.
+    /// The safety of this mechanism depends on creating exactly one `BorrowChecker` per
+    /// WebAssembly memory. There must be no other reads or writes of WebAssembly the memory by
+    /// either Rust or WebAssembly code while there are any outstanding borrows, as given by
+    /// `BorrowChecker::has_outstanding_borrows()`.
+    pub unsafe fn new() -> Self {
         BorrowChecker {
             bc: RefCell::new(InnerBorrowChecker::new()),
         }
     }
-    pub fn borrow(&self, r: Region) -> Result<BorrowHandle, GuestError> {
+    /// Indicates whether any outstanding borrows are known to the `BorrowChecker`. This function
+    /// must be `false` in order for it to be safe to recursively call into a WebAssembly module,
+    /// or to manipulate the WebAssembly memory by any other means.
+    pub fn has_outstanding_borrows(&self) -> bool {
+        self.bc.borrow().has_outstanding_borrows()
+    }
+
+    pub(crate) fn borrow(&self, r: Region) -> Result<BorrowHandle, GuestError> {
         self.bc.borrow_mut().borrow(r)
     }
-    pub fn unborrow(&self, h: BorrowHandle) {
+    pub(crate) fn unborrow(&self, h: BorrowHandle) {
         self.bc.borrow_mut().unborrow(h)
     }
-    pub fn is_borrowed(&self, r: Region) -> bool {
+    pub(crate) fn is_borrowed(&self, r: Region) -> bool {
         self.bc.borrow().is_borrowed(r)
     }
-    pub fn is_empty(&self) -> bool {
-        self.bc.borrow().is_empty()
-    }
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug)]
@@ -44,8 +57,8 @@ impl InnerBorrowChecker {
         }
     }
 
-    fn is_empty(&self) -> bool {
-        self.borrows.is_empty()
+    fn has_outstanding_borrows(&self) -> bool {
+        !self.borrows.is_empty()
     }
 
     fn is_borrowed(&self, r: Region) -> bool {
@@ -147,11 +160,20 @@ mod test {
         let r1 = Region::new(0, 10);
         let r2 = Region::new(10, 10);
         assert!(!r1.overlaps(r2));
-        let _h1 = bs.borrow(r1).expect("can borrow r1");
+        assert_eq!(bs.has_outstanding_borrows(), false, "start with no borrows");
+        let h1 = bs.borrow(r1).expect("can borrow r1");
+        assert_eq!(bs.has_outstanding_borrows(), true, "h1 is outstanding");
         let h2 = bs.borrow(r2).expect("can borrow r2");
 
         assert!(bs.borrow(r2).is_err(), "can't borrow r2 twice");
         bs.unborrow(h2);
+        assert_eq!(
+            bs.has_outstanding_borrows(),
+            true,
+            "h1 is still outstanding"
+        );
+        bs.unborrow(h1);
+        assert_eq!(bs.has_outstanding_borrows(), false, "no remaining borrows");
 
         let _h3 = bs
             .borrow(r2)
diff --git a/crates/wiggle/tests/arrays.rs b/crates/wiggle/tests/arrays.rs
index 61b47ba416..4fba074667 100644
--- a/crates/wiggle/tests/arrays.rs
+++ b/crates/wiggle/tests/arrays.rs
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ impl ReduceExcusesExcercise {
     pub fn test(&self) {
         let ctx = WasiCtx::new();
         let host_memory = HostMemory::new();
-        let bc = BorrowChecker::new();
+        let bc = unsafe { BorrowChecker::new() };
 
         // Populate memory with pointers to generated Excuse values
         for (&excuse, ptr) in self.excuse_values.iter().zip(self.excuse_ptr_locs.iter()) {
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ impl PopulateExcusesExcercise {
     pub fn test(&self) {
         let ctx = WasiCtx::new();
         let host_memory = HostMemory::new();
-        let bc = BorrowChecker::new();
+        let bc = unsafe { BorrowChecker::new() };
 
         // Populate array with valid pointers to Excuse type in memory
         let ptr = host_memory.ptr::<[GuestPtr<'_, types::Excuse>]>(
diff --git a/crates/wiggle/tests/atoms.rs b/crates/wiggle/tests/atoms.rs
index 674fdaa5d5..3497215f0c 100644
--- a/crates/wiggle/tests/atoms.rs
+++ b/crates/wiggle/tests/atoms.rs
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ impl IntFloatExercise {
     pub fn test(&self) {
         let ctx = WasiCtx::new();
         let host_memory = HostMemory::new();
-        let bc = BorrowChecker::new();
+        let bc = unsafe { BorrowChecker::new() };
 
         let e = atoms::int_float_args(&ctx, &host_memory, &bc, self.an_int as i32, self.an_float);
 
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ impl DoubleIntExercise {
     pub fn test(&self) {
         let ctx = WasiCtx::new();
         let host_memory = HostMemory::new();
-        let bc = BorrowChecker::new();
+        let bc = unsafe { BorrowChecker::new() };
 
         let e = atoms::double_int_return_float(
             &ctx,
diff --git a/crates/wiggle/tests/flags.rs b/crates/wiggle/tests/flags.rs
index 33f47c8ccc..727a9262bf 100644
--- a/crates/wiggle/tests/flags.rs
+++ b/crates/wiggle/tests/flags.rs
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ impl ConfigureCarExercise {
     pub fn test(&self) {
         let ctx = WasiCtx::new();
         let host_memory = HostMemory::new();
-        let bc = BorrowChecker::new();
+        let bc = unsafe { BorrowChecker::new() };
 
         // Populate input ptr
         host_memory
diff --git a/crates/wiggle/tests/handles.rs b/crates/wiggle/tests/handles.rs
index 292e689eb4..8b066c7aa5 100644
--- a/crates/wiggle/tests/handles.rs
+++ b/crates/wiggle/tests/handles.rs
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ impl HandleExercise {
     pub fn test(&self) {
         let ctx = WasiCtx::new();
         let host_memory = HostMemory::new();
-        let bc = BorrowChecker::new();
+        let bc = unsafe { BorrowChecker::new() };
 
         let e = handle_examples::fd_create(&ctx, &host_memory, &bc, self.return_loc.ptr as i32);
 
diff --git a/crates/wiggle/tests/ints.rs b/crates/wiggle/tests/ints.rs
index 20d30ff86d..db47ea469d 100644
--- a/crates/wiggle/tests/ints.rs
+++ b/crates/wiggle/tests/ints.rs
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ impl CookieCutterExercise {
     pub fn test(&self) {
         let ctx = WasiCtx::new();
         let host_memory = HostMemory::new();
-        let bc = BorrowChecker::new();
+        let bc = unsafe { BorrowChecker::new() };
 
         let res = ints::cookie_cutter(
             &ctx,
diff --git a/crates/wiggle/tests/pointers.rs b/crates/wiggle/tests/pointers.rs
index 2a63507900..74ca3a1fa2 100644
--- a/crates/wiggle/tests/pointers.rs
+++ b/crates/wiggle/tests/pointers.rs
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ impl PointersAndEnumsExercise {
     pub fn test(&self) {
         let ctx = WasiCtx::new();
         let host_memory = HostMemory::new();
-        let bc = BorrowChecker::new();
+        let bc = unsafe { BorrowChecker::new() };
 
         host_memory
             .ptr(&bc, self.input2_loc.ptr)
diff --git a/crates/wiggle/tests/strings.rs b/crates/wiggle/tests/strings.rs
index 51c5b4fde2..aa34312a86 100644
--- a/crates/wiggle/tests/strings.rs
+++ b/crates/wiggle/tests/strings.rs
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ impl HelloStringExercise {
     pub fn test(&self) {
         let ctx = WasiCtx::new();
         let host_memory = HostMemory::new();
-        let bc = BorrowChecker::new();
+        let bc = unsafe { BorrowChecker::new() };
 
         // Populate string in guest's memory
         let ptr =
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ impl MultiStringExercise {
     pub fn test(&self) {
         let ctx = WasiCtx::new();
         let host_memory = HostMemory::new();
-        let bc = BorrowChecker::new();
+        let bc = unsafe { BorrowChecker::new() };
 
         let write_string = |val: &str, loc: MemArea| {
             let ptr = host_memory.ptr::<str>(&bc, (loc.ptr, val.len() as u32));
diff --git a/crates/wiggle/tests/structs.rs b/crates/wiggle/tests/structs.rs
index accba503f7..4861239ac2 100644
--- a/crates/wiggle/tests/structs.rs
+++ b/crates/wiggle/tests/structs.rs
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ impl SumOfPairExercise {
     pub fn test(&self) {
         let ctx = WasiCtx::new();
         let host_memory = HostMemory::new();
-        let bc = BorrowChecker::new();
+        let bc = unsafe { BorrowChecker::new() };
 
         host_memory
             .ptr(&bc, self.input_loc.ptr)
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ impl SumPairPtrsExercise {
     pub fn test(&self) {
         let ctx = WasiCtx::new();
         let host_memory = HostMemory::new();
-        let bc = BorrowChecker::new();
+        let bc = unsafe { BorrowChecker::new() };
 
         host_memory
             .ptr(&bc, self.input_first_loc.ptr)
@@ -259,7 +259,7 @@ impl SumIntAndPtrExercise {
     pub fn test(&self) {
         let ctx = WasiCtx::new();
         let host_memory = HostMemory::new();
-        let bc = BorrowChecker::new();
+        let bc = unsafe { BorrowChecker::new() };
 
         host_memory
             .ptr(&bc, self.input_first_loc.ptr)
@@ -318,7 +318,7 @@ impl ReturnPairInts {
     pub fn test(&self) {
         let ctx = WasiCtx::new();
         let host_memory = HostMemory::new();
-        let bc = BorrowChecker::new();
+        let bc = unsafe { BorrowChecker::new() };
 
         let err = structs::return_pair_ints(&ctx, &host_memory, &bc, self.return_loc.ptr as i32);
 
@@ -384,7 +384,7 @@ impl ReturnPairPtrsExercise {
     pub fn test(&self) {
         let ctx = WasiCtx::new();
         let host_memory = HostMemory::new();
-        let bc = BorrowChecker::new();
+        let bc = unsafe { BorrowChecker::new() };
 
         host_memory
             .ptr(&bc, self.input_first_loc.ptr)
diff --git a/crates/wiggle/tests/union.rs b/crates/wiggle/tests/union.rs
index 5a6e2b3a42..55894ba49a 100644
--- a/crates/wiggle/tests/union.rs
+++ b/crates/wiggle/tests/union.rs
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ impl GetTagExercise {
     pub fn test(&self) {
         let ctx = WasiCtx::new();
         let host_memory = HostMemory::new();
-        let bc = BorrowChecker::new();
+        let bc = unsafe { BorrowChecker::new() };
 
         let discriminant: u8 = reason_tag(&self.input).into();
         host_memory
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ impl ReasonMultExercise {
     pub fn test(&self) {
         let ctx = WasiCtx::new();
         let host_memory = HostMemory::new();
-        let bc = BorrowChecker::new();
+        let bc = unsafe { BorrowChecker::new() };
 
         let discriminant: u8 = reason_tag(&self.input).into();
         host_memory