By: Pepper Fisher

WASHINGTON STATE – Reports of strange seeds from China showing up in mailboxes have now begun to include residents here in Washington state.

Last Friday, the Washington State Dept. of Agriculture received two separate reports of residents receiving seeds from China that they did not order. The package labeling indicated that jewelry was inside, but instead the residents found seeds.

Officials have also received reports of people who purchased seeds from an online retailer thinking the seeds were from the United States, only to learn when the package arrived in the mail that the seeds were from another country and labeled as having something else inside.

WSDA officials are warning residents not to plant the seeds under any circumstances as they could be noxious weeds or an invasive species. They might even harbor pests or diseases.

They’re urging instead that you do not open the seed packets, but double bag the seeds inside a sealed zip-lock bag and put them in the regular trash.

Don’t put them in a compost, recycling bin or try to burn them.

If you already planted the seeds, they ask that you pull up the plants, double bag them and put them in the trash.

Meanwhile, federal officials from multiple agencies are collecting some of the samples for study and attempting to track the senders. They have not released any information on the types of seeds they are seeing.

To learn more, click here to visit the WSDA blog site.

(USDA photo)