Extension Search / Diagnostic Labs / North Carolina

North Carolina State University Plant Disease and Insect Clinic

The Plant Disease and Insect Clinic at North Carolina State University is North Carolina’s university plant diagnostic lab. Send it a sick plant, an insect or a weed and it tells you what it is and what to do about it, usually for a small fee.

Lab Details

North Carolina State University

Raleigh, North Carolina

Disease diagnosis
Insect ID
Turfgrass
Irrigation water

Open the lab's site for fees, forms and the mailing address.

Services

Disease diagnosis. Finds what is making a plant sick, from fungi and bacteria to cold, drought or chemical injury.
Insect ID. Identifies insects, mites and spiders and whether they are a threat to the plant.
Turfgrass. Diagnoses lawn and turf samples.
Irrigation water. Tests irrigation water for water molds such as Phytophthora and Pythium.

Irrigation water is tested for Phytophthora with pear baits.
Soil nematode assays go to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture's Nematode Assay Section.
Golf course turf samples get a faster turnaround.

Out of State

The lab’s site doesn’t say whether it takes samples from other states. Ask before sending one.

Sample Tips

Call or email the lab before you send anything. What a lab accepts, and what it charges, changes.
Send a plant that is still sick, not one that has died. Include the edge where sick tissue meets healthy tissue.
Bag the roots and soil and tie the bag off at the stem, so soil stays off the leaves. Wrap leaves in dry paper and don’t add water.
Mail early in the week so the box doesn’t sit in a warehouse over the weekend.
Fill in the lab’s form completely: the plant, what you see, when it started and what has been sprayed or applied.

Not sure it’s worth a lab fee? The plant health key narrows a problem down from what you see, and your county North Carolina Extension office can often look at a sample free first.

Other Labs

Bizon is an independent business and isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by any university or Extension service. Lab details were checked against each lab’s own site in October 2026. Why Bizon supports Extension.