It is reasonable to assume that if a hemlock in North Carolina has not been chemically treated, it is infested with HWA. Tell-tale signs of HWA include:
- Round, white puff balls along the underside of a branch at the base of the needles
- Loss of needles and graying foliage, giving the trees a distinctive gray appearance
- Graying, dead or dying branches starting at the base of the tree and moving upwards
- The persistence of dead, fine, branching twigs, indicating needles were lost recently and quickly