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Revised05/2020

COLLECTING WOOD SAMPLESWHY AND WHEN TO SAMPLE

Invasive Shot Hole Borers + Fusarium DiebackHow to Sample a Suspect Tree

REPORT A SUSPECT TREE

DISINFECTING TOOLS

RESOURCES

Invasive Shot Hole Borers (ISHB) vector the disease Fusarium Dieback (FD). Infection can be verified by lab tests and confirm the presence of Polyphagous/Kuroshio Shot Hole Borer. This handout describes the process of properly collecting a wood sample from a suspect tree.

Signs and symptoms of ISHB-FD may look very similar to those caused by other pests. You should sample from (or report, see below) a suspect tree if:

• The tree is a reproductive or other known host of ISHB• You see multiple entry holes (about the size of the tip of a medium

ball point pen)• You see staining, gumming, frass, OR sugar exudate

View symptom photos and ISHB host lists at www.ishb.org.

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Remove any sap or powdery exudate covering the entry hole of the beetle gallery.

If a beetle is trapped in the sap, you may include it in your sample. Do not include live beetles in sampling bags.

Carefully remove the bark around the gallery hole with a clean knife. Do not include the bark in your sample - this helps to reduce contaminants in the sample and increases the chances of detecting the fungi in the lab.

Make a box-shaped incision around the gallery hole at least 1/4” deep. Carefully pry the sample out with the knife.

Dead or diseased tissue is often stained brown or black.

Place the sample in a sealed plastic bag and fill out the Specimen Submission form at ucanr.edu/sites/eskalenlab. Make sure that the bag does not include any live beetles.

Sampling tools that come into contact with potentially infected wood should be disinfected to prevent spreading the disease to other plants. Spray or soak tools using one of the following solutions listed here.

If you have a suspect tree, please visit www.ishb.org to take the ISHB Detection Assessment. Depending upon assessment results, this tool may guide you to reporting trees in new areas of infestation or among new host species.

www.ishb.org - ISHB, UC Cooperative Extension central website ucanr.edu/sites/eskalenlab - Eskalen Lab, UC Daviswww.ipm.ucanr.edu - UC Statewide IPM Program

• 5% bleach• 70% ethyl alcohol• Diluted Lysol®

concentrate

Authors: Akif Eskalen (UC Davis), Shannon C. Lynch (UC Santa Cruz). Photos provided by Akif Eskalen and Monica Dimson.

Below: an ISHB entry-hole (with medium ball point pen for scale). Right: staining on California sycamore, Platanus racemosa.