A marijuana eradication effort by deputies and state law enforcement yielded just two plants in Scotland County on Thursday.

The pair of plants were growing in a bucket beside a storage building in Laurel Hill, concealed by taller plants on one side and the hood of a car on another.

No one was at home when deputies seized the plants, but since Investigator Jon Edwards wanted to make sure the occupants had no doubts about who harvested their illicit crops, he left his business card where the plants had been.

Investigators say the pilots of a state Highway Patrol helicopter had sharp eyes to spot the four-foot-tall plants from several hundred feet above the property, especially since they blended in with nearby weeds that were as tall or taller than the marijuana plants.

The State Bureau of Investigation also lent a pair of narcotics agents to the operation who have helped in other eradication efforts, including several in nearby Richmond County where officers seized more than 60,000 plants in recent weeks.

Still, no other plants were found in a more than four-hour operation that scoured the more rural areas of Scotland County for the illegal foliage.

Last year, Scotland deputies found a field of 103 plants in a similar operation. No such crop was at that location this time. The year before, a marijuana eradication operation yielded just three plants, all across from Carver Middle School.

The small yield is evidence of fewer pot growers in Scotland County than in surrounding communities, according to Edwards.

The haul may have been smaller than some expected, but Sheriff Shep Jones said the slim findings shows that dealers have been put on notice that deputies are aggressively pursuing drug crimes.

"We're going to continue to conduct fly-overs and prosecute those growing illegal crops," he said.