"I am seeing spittlebugs deposits everywhere I look in the Sand Lake area."

Fred Meyer is employing an aggressive pest-control plan after customers spotted mice in the store through Southcentral Alaska’s unusually warm summer.

Browning on birch leaves before time for the fall season transition.

"The spruce bark beetle epidemic currently ravaging Southcentral AK's spruce trees is well-known, but I haven't heard mention of other pests occurring in conjunction."

Elodea was discovered in Alexander Lake in 2014 by researchers checking minnow traps. At the time, it covered 20 percent of the lake but now has spread to 90 percent.

The worst-hit areas appear to be established neighborhoods with older spruce trees, especially in Turnagain and Spenard.

The birch leafminer ate its way through birches across Southcentral and Interior Alaska this summer. Hot and dry weather earlier in summer may have been optimal for them.