Louisiana Mystery – Unsolicited Seeds Showing Up in the Mail

You might recall that during the height of 2020's COVID pandemic another "scare" was noticed across Louisiana and the rest of the nation. That "scare" was in the form of unsolicited packages of seeds that appeared to be randomly sent to various addresses across the nation and across Louisiana.

Several Departments of Agriculture across the nation and the Gulf South in particular have noticed an uptick in inquiries from residents concerning the seed packages. In many cases, the packaging that contains the seeds is not labeled as seeds. Many of you who have reported receiving unsolicited packages say the parcel was marked "jewelry".

So far there have been no reports of sinister plant life of invasive species included in the packages of seeds that have returned to U.S. Mailboxes this spring. Of seed packages that were opened and inspected by the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, the seeds were tomato seeds and onion seeds. Neither set of seeds tested positive for harmful compounds.

If you do receive unsolicited seeds from an unknown source over the next few days it is important that you take the following steps to ensure that proper precautions are being taken. No, there is no prevailing suggestion that the seeds will be harmful to you or your family but if they are planted and allowed to mature it is possible that you could be introducing an invasive species into Louisiana's delicate ecosystem.

So, don't plant the seeds if you get them. Instead, you'll want to contact the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry. You can do that via this website or by calling 225-925-4733. Once you have contacted LDAF you might be asked to forward the package of seeds to the State Plant Health Director's office in Baton Rouge so that they might be further examined.