Detailed guide: Report a tree pest or disease: overview

Understand which tree pests or diseases are notifiable

Some tree pests and diseases are notifiable, which means that, in England, they must be reported to the Forestry Commission or the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).

Notifiable tree pests and diseases are the ones that have the potential to cause the greatest damage to our trees, woods and forests. See
the downloadable matrix
(PDF, 201KB, 2 pages)

to find out which ones are notifiable. The matrix also includes a quick guide to how each pest and disease is spread, and whether disinfectant should be used after working with affected material.

Anyone can report a notifiable pest or disease. Reports from the public are valuable. They supplement the Forestry Commission’s annual surveys.

The preferred way to make a report is with Tree Alert, the online pest and disease reporting tool. Note that Tree Alert requires you to upload good quality photographs.

You can use Tree Alert to report suspected pests and diseases found anywhere in the UK. Reports from Scotland and Wales will be passed to Forestry Commission Scotland and Natural Resources Wales for follow-up.

Report suspected cases in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Forest Service using TreeCheck, the all-Ireland pest and disease reporting tool.

Note that reports of tree pests and diseases in trade locations, such as nurseries, should be reported to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).

What to expect if you make a report

The report will be acknowledged and you may be contacted again if further detail is required. If a notifiable pest or disease is confirmed, the Forestry Commission’s response will be one of the following:

  • plot the location so it can inform local tree and woodland managers of its presence, and advise them how best to manage it
  • take action to prevent or minimise spread of the pest or disease to other areas
  • take action to eradicate the pest or disease before it can become established and spread

Get involved in monitoring tree health

Visit Observatree if you would like more information about monitoring the health of the UK’s trees. You can only join Observatree if you’re selected to do so but you’ll find a range of helpful resources available on their website.




Detailed guide: Manage a tree pest or disease: overview

Updated: Incorrect text summarising one of the strategies. Replaced with summary of strategy paper.

There’s a lot you can do to help prevent or minimise the introduction, establishment, spread and impacts of tree pests and diseases.

The threat to our trees, woods, forests, parks and gardens from damaging insect pests and organisms such as bacteria and fungi is significant. Some organisms can damage or kill dozens of different plant species, including trees. They can be spread in many ways. such as:

  • in the movements of plants, wood, and wood products
  • by wind and water
  • on vehicles, clothing, footwear, equipment and tools

As well as causing economic losses for the forestry, timber and plant-based industries, they can disrupt other sectors, such as tourism, and threaten woodland biodiversity, ecosystems and native species. The gardens of private homes are also under threat from tree pests and diseases, and private homeowners can help minimise the impact of tree diseases.

The following documents explain the approach to preventing and managing tree pests and diseases:

England tree health management plan

This document covers a range of diseases and gives specific examples. It sets out management approaches to tackling a range of important pests and diseases. It also provides a framework for managing future threats, and the strategy underpinning the approaches.

England tree health resilience strategy

This strategy builds on the Tree Health Management Plan and explains how the government will improve protection against pests and diseases, and how it will work with the industry and others to build resilience in our trees.

Plant Biosecurity Strategy for Great Britain

Overview of the activity that Defra and the devolved administrations are undertaking to improve plant biosecurity.

Useful resources

See the UK Plant Health Information Portal, a hub for plant health information, data and resources.

Use the UK Plant Health Risk Register, a tool to help guide action against pests and diseases that threaten our crops, trees, woods, forests, gardens and countryside.

Tree health funding

If your woodland has been affected by a pest or disease, you might be eligible for funding to improve tree and woodland health.

Wood and timber products: import and export

Importing and exporting wood, timber and wood products provides information about the plant health regulations governing the import, export and some inland movements of wood and wood products.




Detailed guide: Identify a tree pest or disease: overview

Monitoring tree health and protecting our trees, woods and forests from pests and diseases is an increasingly important part of sustainable tree and forest management. This means you need to be able to identify specific pests and diseases to tackle any obvious problems. Once you know what’s affecting your trees, you can find advice on what action to take.

Specific tree pests and diseases

If you know the name of the tree pest or disease affecting your trees, see the Forestry Commission guidance giving detailed information on specific tree pests or diseases known to be present in the UK. You can also find out about those that pose a potential risk to the UK but are not present yet.

Identify by tree species

If you’re unsure what’s causing the problem, use the alphabetical table below to narrow down the options for the relevant tree species and find out which pests and diseases can affect it.

Once you’ve found the likely culprit for your tree species, you can read Forestry Commission guidance giving detailed information on that specific pest or disease and how to deal with it.

A

Tree species Pest or disease names
Alder (Alnus) Asian longhorn beetle, Phytophthora alni
Apple (Malus domestica) Citrus longhorn beetle
Ash (Fraxinus species) Asian longhorn beetle, chalara ash dieback, emerald ash borer

B

Tree species Pest or disease names
Beech (Fagus species) Asian longhorn beetle, Citrus longhorn beetle, Phytophthora kernoviae, Phytophthora ramorum
Birch (Betula species) Asian longhorn beetle, Citrus longhorn beetle

C

Tree species Pest or disease names
Cedar (Cedrus species) Pinewood nematode, Sirococcus blight
Cherry (Prunus species) Asian longhorn beetle, citrus longhorn beetle
Citrus trees (Citrus species) Xylella fastidiosa
Common ash (Fraxinus excelsior) Asian longhorn beetle, chalara ash dieback, emerald ash borer
Corsican pine (Pinus nigra) Dothistroma needle blight
Cypress (Cupressus species) No significant threats

D

Tree species Pest or disease names
Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) Phytophthora ramorum, pine-tree lappet moth

E

Tree species Pest or disease names
Elder (Sambucus nigra) No significant threats
Elm (Ulmus species) Asian longhorn beetle, citrus longhorn beetle, Dutch elm disease, elm zig-zag sawfly, Xylella fastidiosa

F

Tree species Pest or disease name
Field maple (Acer campestre) No significant threats

G

Tree species Pest or disease name
Grand fir (Abies grandis) No significant threats

H

Tree species Pest or disease names
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) No significant threats
Hazel (Corylus species) Asian longhorn beetle, citrus longhorn beetle
Hornbeam (Carpinus species) Asian longhorn beetle, citrus longhorn beetle
Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) Asian longhorn beetle, citrus longhorn beetle, horse chestnut leaf miner, Phytophthora ramorum

J

Tree species Pest or disease name
Juniper (Juniperus communis) Phytophthora austrocedri

L

Tree species Pest or disease names
Larch (Larix species) Phytophthora ramorum, pinewood nematode, pine processionary moth
Lawson cypress (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) Phytophthora austrocedrae, Phytophthora lateralis
Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) Dothistroma needle blight, pinewood nematode, pine processionary moth

M

Tree species Pest or disease names
Maple (Acer saccharum) Asian longhorn beetle, citrus longhorn beetle, sweet chestnut blight
Mountain ash or rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) Asian longhorn beetle

N

Tree species Pest or disease names
Narrow-leaved ash (Fraxinus angustifolia) Asian longhorn beetle, chalara ash dieback, emerald ash borer
Noble fir (Abies procera) No significant threats
Norway spruce (Picea abies) Great spruce bark beetle, 8-toothed spruce bark beetle, pine-tree lappet moth, pinewood nematode

O

Tree species Pest or disease names
Oak – holm (Quercus ilex) Sweet chestnut blight, oak pinhole borer, oak processionary moth, Phytophthora kernoviae
Oak – northern red (Quercus rubra) Xylella fastidiosa
Oak – pedunculate or ‘English’ (Quercus robur) Acute oak decline, Asian longhorn beetle, sweet chestnut blight, oak pinhole borer, oak processionary moth, Phytophthora kernoviae, Xylella fastidiosa
Oak – sessile (Quercus petraea) Sweet chestnut blight, oak pinhole borer, oak processionary moth
Oak – turkey (Quercus cerris) Phytophthora ramorum
Olive (Olea europaea) Xylella fastidiosa

P

Tree species Pest or disease names
Pear (Pyrus species) Citrus longhorn beetle
Pine – Corsican (Pinus nigra) Dothistroma needle blight
Pine – lodgepole (Pinus contorta) Dothistroma needle blight, pinewood nematode, pine processionary moth
Pine – Scots (Pinus sylvestris) Dothistroma needle blight, pine-tree lappet moth, pinewood nematode
Plane (Platanus species) Asian longhorn beetle, citrus longhorn beetle, Xylella fastidiosa
Plum (Prunus species) Asian longhorn beetle
Poplar (Populus species) Asian longhorn beetle, citrus longhorn beetle

R

Tree species Pest or disease name
Rowan or mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia) Asian longhorn beetle

S

Tree species Pest or disease names
Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) Dothistroma needle blight, pine-tree lappet moth, pinewood nematode
Spruce – Norway (Picea abies) Great spruce bark beetle, 8-toothed spruce bark beetle, pine-tree lappet moth, pinewood nematode
Spruce – Sitka (Picea sitchensis) Great spruce bark beetle, 8-toothed spruce bark beetle, pine-tree lappet moth, pinewood nematode, Phytophthora ramorum
Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) Sweet chestnut blight, Oriental chestnut gall wasp, Phytophthora ramorum
Sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) Asian longhorn beetle

W

Tree species pest or disease names
Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) Sirococcus blight
Western red cedar (Thuja plicata) Sirococcus blight
Willow (Salix species) Asian longhorn beetle, citrus longhorn beetle

Y

Tree species pest or disease name
Yew (Taxus baccata) Phytophthora lateralis

Note: this list of trees is not exhaustive.

Request a diagnosis

The information in the table above is not exhaustive. You may discover a different pest or disease attacking your trees and you should report it or request a diagnosis from Forest Research’s Tree Health Diagnostic and Advisory Service. There might be a fee for this service.




Guidance: Tree health news

Keep up to date with the latest news and views on tree pests and diseases in England by signing up for Tree health news.




Form: Register to apply for a phytosanitary certificate

When we receive your original signed registration form, we will email you a unique customer reference number and instructions for using the system.