Don't panic, but the spotted lanternflies are back!   Right now, the small black and white nymphs can be seen, but they will soon change to the larger red and white nymphs. These bugs are a nuisance, especially due to the honeydew that they produce and the sooty mold that grows where the honeydew falls, but a nuisance is all they are. It is important to remember that these insects do not bite or sting, they can’t damage your house and other structures, and they don’t kill healthy garden or landscape plants.  They prefer the invasive tree-of-heaven to feed on, but they will congregate on maples and walnuts as well.   Last year, many imaginative ideas about how to handle this nuisance were spread through social media, including advice to use commercial pesticides or homemade remedies like vinegar or soap solutions.  Using pesticides like these is inadvisable: You can kill lanternflies, but also desirable pollinators or bugs and spiders that have learned to hunt the lanternflies.  Learn more: trees.dc.gov/pages/invasive-…

Thank you to everyone who helped make the Anacostia Youth Summit a meaningful and impactful experience for our youth. Investing in young people today helps create stronger, healthier, and more sustainable communities tomorrow. Through hands-on learning, meaningful conversations, and connections with our team, participants gained valuable knowledge and tools to become informed stewards of their neighborhoods and the environment.

The enthusiasm, curiosity, and leadership displayed throughout the summit reaffirmed the importance of creating spaces where young people can learn, grow, and see themselves as part of the solution to the environmental challenges facing our city.