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June 2, 2025

June Weed of the Month: Report a Pest Success Stories for Noxious Weeds

Early detection is essential to keeping noxious weed species out of Minnesota

By Maya Sarkar, Minnesota Department of Agriculture - It’s important to treat new infestations of invasive species as they arise. Treating infestations early limits their spread and saves resources. This method of treatment is called early detection and rapid response (EDRR), which focuses on detecting new invasive species early and treating them as soon as possible to prevent their spread and establishment (for more information, check out The Invasion Curve).

One way to detect species early is through a community science-based approach asking people in our community to report suspicious species when they see them. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) does this through Report A Pest, an online form for concerned community members to report potential threats of invasive species, diseases, and insects. In fact, some of these reports resulted in the early detection of and rapid response to invasive plant species on the Noxious Weed List. Here are some of the success stories:

Palmer amaranth: Submissions from Report A Pest have kept our team up to date on the whereabouts of Palmer amaranth. These reports directly helped the MDA quickly treat populations before they could establish. These efforts have kept Palmer amaranth, an invasive species and major threat to agriculture, out of the state. Keep up the good work!

Palmer amaranth is listed as a Prohibited Noxious Weed on the Eradicate List. Photo by: Howard F. Schwartz, Bugwood.org

Download picture here

Tree of heaven: Early submissions from Report A Pest allowed the MDA to quickly respond and treat a handful of tree of heaven plants. These sightings and rapid response allowed partner organizations and the MDA to eradicate early establishers of tree of heaven, and there are currently no positive reports of this noxious weed.

Giant hogweed: Submissions of suspected giant hogweed plants have all turned out to be negative. While no giant hogweed plants have been found in Minnesota, reports such as these keep the MDA vigilant.

Overall, early detection is essential to keeping noxious weed species out of Minnesota, especially species that are not yet established in the state, like those in the Prohibited Eradicate category. If you find a plant that you think might be a species in the Prohibited Eradicate category, which are noxious weeds that we aim to eradicate on all lands within the state, please report it to Report a Pest.

Tips for Report a Pest Submissions:

• Include as much information as possible
• Attach clear photos of the plant and its surroundings, making sure to get a photo of the whole plant and close-up photos of a leaf, flower (if available), and stem or bark
• Include information on the infestation size – is it one plant or many? How much area does the infestation cover?
• Include your email so our team can contact you if we have questions or to share any insight we may have

Through Report a Pest, the noxious weed team gets to learn what’s on the ground (or vining up a tree) and reporters receive information back, including a potential identification, treatments, and more. It’s a great two-way learning stream.

As much as the MDA noxious weed team here loves surveying for noxious weed species, agency staff can’t be everywhere at once. You can help by being more eyes on the ground and reporting any plants that may be a noxious weed species. Remember, you can make a difference in protecting Minnesota’s land, resources, communities, and agriculture!

For more information on noxious weeds and invasive insects, listen and subscribe to Smarty Plants, a Minnesota Department of Agriculture podcast. 

MEDIA: Contact Brittany Raveill, MDA Communications, at [email protected] or 651-201-6131 for more information on Weed of the Month