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Report a noxious weed in King County, Washington
Identifying and reporting weeds is a region wide effort that everyone can take part in supporting. The King County Noxious Weed Control Program tracks and controls legally regulated noxious weeds in King County and provides education and guidance for non-regulated weeds.
Note: The information below applies only to King County residents. If you are elsewhere in Washington state, find your county's weed board on the Washington Weed Boards A-Z list.
If you live outside of Washington, contact your local department of natural resources to see if you have any local programs that deal with noxious weeds.
The most important step to weed reporting is making sure you have the right weed
If you know the name (species) of the noxious weed you are reporting, go to the noxious weed reporting section.
Plant Identification
Identifying your weed is the most important step in managing noxious weeds. There are many ways to get started! Here's just a couple our specialists suggest (select a drop-down option to learn more):
Using plant characteristics
- Browse our Noxious Weed Index to find your species by their growth habit. Only includes plants that are on the King County Noxious Weed List.
- Narrow it down using characteristics: Use the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board’s Identify a weed form. Give information about where the plant is growing, leaves, colors, etc. to help filter out what plant you’re looking at. Only includes plants that are on the Washington State Noxious Weed List.
- Learn plant terms & ID tips in our 2023 blog post (includes some of the apps mentioned on this page).
Using your smart phone + photos
- Using your phone camera: (Seek by iNaturalist) download & use the free mobile app “Seek” by iNaturalist to ID using AI technology with your camera or a photo.
- Using iPhone photo gallery: No download needed! iPhone users have this technology built into their default photo gallery app. We recommend looking into any suggested species to verify ID if using this method. Learn more about iPhone photo gallery
- Using Android phone photos or camera (Google lens): no download needed! Android/google phone users have this technology built into their default photo gallery app (google photos). We recommend looking into any suggested species to verify ID if using this method. Learn more about Google Lens
- Still can’t figure it out? Post photos of your plant to iNaturalist: Allow experts and citizen scientists to help you identify your species simply by uploading an “observation”. Access this on your phone’s internet browser, computer browser, or through their free mobile app. More on this tool in Reporting a Noxious Weed section below.
- Send us quality digital pictures by email: Email us at noxious.weeds@kingcounty.gov. Our inbox is monitored by King County noxious weed specialists. In your email, please attach clear photos and location information.
Noxious Weed Reporting
You can report your noxious weed to the Program using iNaturalist or via email.
Unless it is specified, we do not typically follow-up with reports. This is due to the high volume of reports that we receive.
Which weeds should be reported?
It depends on the weed and its location. Early detection and reporting of uncommon weeds help us quickly respond and prevent the spread of noxious weeds in our region. These types of reports are most helpful. Choose an option below to learn more about how reports are used in these situations.
Don’t know if your weed is regulated or not? Find it on the noxious weed list. If it is not on this list, it is not a listed noxious weed and can be treated as a non-regulated weed.
Regulated weeds
Reports are sent to specialists responsible for the management of regulated noxious weeds in King County. Reports are automatically added to our internal maps, so they can include these observations into their work plan. Each specialist is responsible for a particular region of the county and has 600-1000+ sites. Their ability to address an infest quickly depends on many factors.
- On public property – our specialists will often identify who is responsible for the land (i.e. city park, roads department, county parks) and coordinate with their crews to address the infestation.
- On private property – our specialists will reach out to landowners, coordinate site meetings, and communicate requirements for work on the infestation. This requires the cooperation of the landowner. If the regulated weed you are reporting is on property you manage, we recommend emailing us at noxious.weeds@kingcounty.gov instead of reporting with iNaturalist. Include a photo of the weed and your property address.
Non-regulated weeds
There is no legal requirement for these weeds to be controlled. While we strongly encourage controlling any listed noxious weed, it is up to the landowner to prioritize this work. Observations of non-regulated weeds made in iNaturalist are used for tracking and educational purposes, but will not be looked into further by our program. Our program’s work is determined by state law, which gives us the legal ability to support and manage the control of regulated noxious weeds, but not non-regulated noxious weeds. Thus, we do not have resources designated to physically support landowners with non-regulated noxious weeds, but we are happy to offer guidance.
- On your property: If you are interested in creating a weed management plan, we recommend you learn more about weed control methods on the specific species page [INTERNAL link to weed-list]. Learn more about resources for residents of King County on our webpage. Contact us by email at noxious.weeds@kingcounty.gov or by phone at 206-477-WEED if you have additional questions.
- Not on your property: If you know the landowner, please contact them and have them follow the step above. If the weeds are on public property and posing a safety risk or any other serious issue, we suggest contacting the property’s land manager: King County Parcel Viewer.
Report-a-Weed using iNaturalist
Submit an observation using iNaturalist
As you would any other species, no extra steps required.
How to make an observation
Find & download the iNaturalist app online or in your mobile app store, create an account. This takes less than 5 minutes then you’re ready to submit endless observations! Learn more about our process in the numbered section below.
Check out this video tutorial on how to make an observation using the iNaturalist mobile app.
All you need is a clear photo(s), location where you saw the weed, and the name of your plant. Can’t find your plant in the app? Search for its scientific name. Common names vary by location and may be listed as something you’re not familiar with.
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Make an “Observation” in iNaturalist
Do this in the iNaturalist mobile app (preferred) or on their website at inaturalist.org. If the species is on the noxious weed list, and within the bounds of King County, WA, it automatically shows up in our iNaturalist tracking project umbrella. Must include photo and location. Your work is done! -
Our team monitors the KC Regulated Weeds Project
The umbrella project in step one shows all weeds, but our team’s focus is on regulated weeds which we track more precisely in the King County regulated weeds project.
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Your sighting is confirmed in iNaturalist
Keep an eye on your iNaturalist notifications if you want verification that your observation was noted. Noxious Weed Specialists will confirm your plant’s identification and regulatory (legal) status by adding field observations to your report.
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Your observation gets added to our internal database
Our staff can now incorporate your observation into their work plan (regulated weeds only, see “Which weeds should be reported” section above for more information). Their work is organized based on plant seasonality and they will either manage the infestation themselves or coordinate the work with land managers depending on the location. New infestations are addressed as appropriate based on each report (timing, location, & amount) and if not addressed this season, will be addressed next.
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Follow up
We do not typically follow up on these reports aside from confirming sightings in iNaturalist. If this weed is on your property or you want follow-up for another reason, please learn about submitting a report via email in the next section.