Utah Plant Pest Diagnostic Lab
Submitting a Plant Sample
Submitting an Arthropod Sample
For a list of our services, visit our home page.
If you have questions about what service(s) you need, contact our lab or visit your local county Extension office for pre-screening.
If you submit a sample for disease culturing, DNA, or virus testing without contacting the lab prior to submission and we cannot perform the desired test, we will conduct our "basic services." No refund for overpayment of testing services will be given. View our refund and privacy policies for more information.
Steps to Submitting a Sample:
Complete the submission form in entirety (both pages). Include as much information as possible to help us with diagnosis.
Take photos of the issue(s) or pest(s) and email or text them to us prior to or the day of mailing/delivering your sample (uppdl@usu.edu; 385-367-3773), or print out physical photos to be mailed in with your sample(s). Please include your name in the message when sending the photos so we can match them up with your sample(s).
Include a range of perspectives of the plant, pest, or area of interest (both close up and far away). For example, we do not only want to see the symptoms on your tree or a close up of an area of grass. We also would like to see how the tree is situated in the landscape, and the lay of the land/property.
Prepare your sample appropriately based on the type of sample you are submitting:
Tree IconPlant Samples
How to prepare a plant sample for disease or pest damage identification.
Plant Samples
How to prepare a plant sample for disease or pest damage identification.
Insect IconInsect Samples
How to prepare an insect or arthropod specimen for identification.
Insect Samples
How to prepare an insect or arthropod specimen for identification.
Grass Seedling IconTurfgrass Samples
How to prepare a turfgrass sample for insect/disease diagnosis.
Turfgrass Samples
How to prepare a turfgrass sample for insect/disease diagnosis.
Mail or deliver your sample along with the submission form, appropriate payment (unless requesting an invoice for card payment), and photos (if submitting physical prints). See below for our shipping address and walk-in directions.
Mail Samples To:
5305 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322-5305
Sensitive plant tissues or living organisms should be shipped via expedited mail service (e.g., overnight or 1- to 2-day shipping), especially during hot summer months when samples can be destroyed by prolonged delivery. Please take note of our University Holiday Calendar and plan sample shipment accordingly to prevent sensitive samples from being further delayed; the UPPDL is not open on university holidays. It is best to ship samples early in the week to best prevent the sample(s) from sitting over a weekend. The UPPDL is not responsible for shipping charges or for samples that become spoiled during shipment.
In-person sample drop-off:
Please call or e-mail us to schedule an appointment before personally dropping off samples. Plant samples are accepted Monday-Thursday. Samples can be dropped off in the Plant Pest Diagnostic Lab (Room 203) in the Biology and Natural Resources Building.
Use the Campus Map to locate the building.
Parking:
We recommend parking in the Big Blue Terrace parking garage. One-hour parking vouchers are available for the Big Blue Terrace parking garage only. You must ask a lab member for a voucher. Unfortunately, if nobody is in the lab at the time of sample drop off, vouchers will not be available. Exit out of the south end of the garage, and our building will be about 300 feet to the east.
How Long do I Have to Wait for a Diagnosis?
Normally, you will receive a response within 2 weeks of submitting your sample depending on the types of tests needed. Expect longer for plant pathology or DNA-related services.