HomeServicesTree Health Diagnostic and Advisory Service
The Tree Health Diagnostic and Advisory Service provide advice and where possible diagnosis and identification of tree pests and pathogens.
Range of services:
Reporting tree pests and diseases
Diagnostic & advisory service
Reporting tree pests and diseases
If you are reporting a tree pest or disease, please use TreeAlert
Diagnosticians will view your enquiry and, if necessary, will investigate your case further. Please note that not all enquiries will be followed up directly. However, every enquiry will be used and will contribute to our understanding of tree health issues across Great Britain.
What is TreeAlert?
TreeAlert is the online tool managed by Forest Research. It is a valuable aid for forestry and tree professionals or people with knowledge of trees and woods, allowing them to quickly report any suspect findings of tree pests and diseases which are of concern in Britain. TreeAlert was created following the arrival of Chalara (ash dieback) as an easy method that encouraged rapid reporting. It is the only online tool in the country created for the purpose of flagging up potentially new tree pest and disease threats and can act as an early warning system to protect out trees.
What happens to TreeAlert reports?
The management of pests and diseases is greatly helped by early detection and prompt action. The effectiveness of TreeAlert depends completely on the reports submitted by users. Apart from the rapid detection of new threats, the reports also give us an indication of the most common disorders currently affecting trees as well as gathering information about the general health of the nation’s trees, woodlands and forests. We use the data obtained through TreeAlert to follow up findings, to identify trends of spread, to direct surveys looking for regulated or quarantine pests and pathogens and to support pest and disease management. In addition to the reports submitted to TreeAlert, the Forestry Commission and Forest Research carry out various surveillance activities for the detection of a range of tree pests and diseases.
Reporting suspected cases of Chalara die back of ash
Chalara dieback of ash is a disease of ash trees caused by the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. The disease causes leaf loss and crown dieback in affected trees, and is usually fatal.
We would encourage you only to report suspected cases of Chalara dieback of ash in new (unshaded) areas on the following map
This is a chargeable service offering the diagnosis of pests and diseases on trees using conventional and molecular methods, identify fungal fruiting bodies and supply general information and advice on all aspects of tree diseases and disorders
There is no charge for this service if the enquiry concerns a regulated pest or disease
We deal with samples from the following:
Woodlands in both public and private ownership
Trees on farmland, in hedgerows, shelterbelts and screens
There is a flat rate charge for the initial investigation which in many cases may be all that is needed to resolve the problem. Additional work, which may involve culturing from specimens or a site visit, will incur additional charges but will not be undertaken without the prior agreement of the customer.
In the event that you are unable to use TreeAlert to submit your enquiry, please contact us
We use 3 types of cookie. You can choose which cookies you're happy for us to use.
Strictly necessary cookies
Always On
These essential cookies do things like remember your progress through a form.
They always need to be on.
Cookies that measure website use
We use Google Analytics to measure how you use the website so we can improve it based on user needs.
Google Analytics sets cookies that store anonymised information about:
how you got to the site
the pages you visit on forestresearch.gov.uk and how long you spend on each page
what you click on while you're visiting the site
Cookies that help with our communications and marketing
Some forestresearch.gov.uk pages may contain content from other sites, like YouTube or Flickr, which may set their own cookies. These sites are sometimes called ‘third party’ services. This tells us how many people are seeing the content and whether it’s useful.
