What's Eating Your Aloe vera?

Aloe vera

Reviewed by Kiersten Rankel M.S.

Quick Answer

For aloe vera, the most likely culprits are mealybugs hiding deep where the thick fleshy leaves attach to the central rosette, and fungus gnats, which signal damp soil and the root rot that kills more aloes than any pest. Spider mites show up on the smooth leaf surfaces in dry winter rooms. Scale insects appear as oval brown bumps stuck to the leaves.

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What does the damage look like?

Tap the closest match to jump straight to the fix.

White cottony tufts deep in the rosette

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Tiny black flies near the soil

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Tiny pale dots and webs

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Oval brown bumps on the leaves

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Pests, ranked by impact

Mealybugs

Damage

High

Removal

Hard

What it looks like

Soft white insects covered in cottony fluff, 2 to 4 mm long. Tuck deep where the thick fleshy leaves attach to the central rosette, in the tight folds between overlapping leaf bases, and along the soil line. Slow-moving and easy to miss because the rosette geometry hides them.

What the damage looks like

White cottony tufts visible at leaf bases when you pull the rosette apart gently. New center leaves emerge stunted, pale, or kinked. A sticky shiny film coats the leaves below the cluster. Severe infestations weaken the rosette and let rot enter through chewed leaf bases.

How to get rid of them

Option 1

Cotton swab dipped in 70% isopropyl alcohol

Dab every visible mealybug. The alcohol melts the waxy coating and kills on contact. Pull leaves apart gently to reach colonies tucked at the leaf bases and in the rosette center. Aloe's tough leaves tolerate the swab without damage. Repeat every 3 days for 3 weeks to catch newly hatched eggs.

Option 2

Insecticidal soap spray, weekly for 4 weeks

Spray ready-to-use insecticidal soap into the rosette center and along every leaf base. Aim for the tight pockets where mealybugs hide. Repeat weekly for 4 weeks because eggs hatch in protected rosette folds over time and need ongoing pressure.

Option 3

Isolate the plant from your collection

Move the aloe at least 6 feet from other houseplants. Mealybugs spread by crawling and love jumping to nearby succulents. Wipe the windowsill, pot rim, and any tools that touched the infested plant.

Common myth

Stronger alcohol kills mealybugs faster.

95%+ alcohol evaporates faster than it can kill the bug. On aloe's smooth waxy leaves, higher concentrations strip the protective coating and leave dry brown patches. Stick with 70%.

Fungus gnats

Damage

High

Removal

Easy

What it looks like

Tiny dark flies, 1 to 3 mm long, hovering near the soil and flying up when you water. Larvae are barely-visible white worms in the top inch of damp soil.

What the damage looks like

Adults are mostly a nuisance, but their presence is a serious warning on aloe. Fungus gnats only thrive in damp soil, the same conditions that cause aloe root rot. Root rot is the number one killer of indoor aloes and rises through the leaf bases until the rosette collapses.

How to get rid of them

Option 1

Stop watering until the pot is bone dry

Aloe stores weeks of water in its thick fleshy leaves and wants the soil bone dry between drinks. Skip the next watering entirely. Once the soil is fully dry top to bottom, larvae die and adults stop laying eggs. Going forward, only water when the leaves feel slightly soft, which happens every 3 to 4 weeks indoors.

Option 2

Yellow sticky traps near the soil

Stick yellow cards (Trappify, ~$10) just above the soil surface. Adults stick to them on takeoff and landing. Catches the breeding population while the dry-out kills the larvae.

Option 3

Mosquito Bits sprinkled on soil

Mosquito Bits (Bt-i, ~$15) is a bacteria-based larvicide that kills fungus gnat larvae specifically. Sprinkle a tablespoon on the soil. Safe for aloe, pets, and beneficial soil microbes. Use only if the dry-out alone doesn't clear them.

Common myth

Drench the soil with hydrogen peroxide.

It kills larvae but also kills the beneficial fungi and bacteria aloe roots need. Worse, drenching contradicts the real fix: letting the pot go bone dry. Adding more water to a damp aloe is exactly the move that causes root rot, the actual killer.

Spider mites

Damage

Medium

Removal

Moderate

What it looks like

Almost invisible without a hand lens. Yellow-green to red-orange specks running along the smooth flat surfaces of the thick leaves. Indoor heated air through winter dries the room and triggers a population boom on aloe's broad exposed leaf surfaces.

What the damage looks like

Pale dots and faint silvery patches on the upper surface of the fleshy leaves. Fine webbing strung between leaf bases and along the rosette center. Heavy infestations bronze the leaves and leave them looking dull and dusty even after wiping.

How to get rid of them

Option 1

Wipe every leaf with a damp cloth, weekly for 3 weeks

Aloe's smooth flat leaves are the easiest in the houseplant world to wipe. Dampen a soft cloth and run it firmly along the top and bottom of every leaf, including the leaf bases at the rosette. Mites can't reattach quickly when knocked off. Repeat weekly for 3 weeks.

Option 2

Neem oil at lights-out, every 5 days for 3 rounds

Mix 2 tablespoons cold-pressed neem oil and 1 teaspoon dish soap per gallon of water.

Spray top and bottom of every leaf at lights-out, paying attention to the leaf bases where mites cluster. Avoid pooling oil in the rosette center.

Repeat every 5 days for 3 rounds. That covers the full egg-to-adult cycle.

Option 3

Move the plant out of forced-air heat

Hot dry air from a vent or radiator is the climate mites need to breed fast. Move the aloe to a brighter spot away from any direct heat source. Aloe still wants strong light, just not the dry heat blast that comes with it.

Brown soft scale (Coccus hesperidum) clustered on a plant stem

Scale insects

Damage

Medium

Removal

Moderate

What it looks like

Hard or soft brown bumps stuck to the smooth surface of the thick fleshy leaves, 1 to 3 mm wide. Look like tiny barnacles. Don't move because they're glued in place. Often line up along the leaf edges and at the leaf bases where the rosette is densest.

What the damage looks like

Yellowed patches around each cluster on the otherwise green leaf surface. A sticky shiny film on the leaves and pot rim, sometimes with sooty black mold. Heavy infestations weaken the rosette over months and can let rot enter through stressed leaf bases.

How to get rid of them

Option 1

Scrape and dab with alcohol, weekly for 3 weeks

Scrape every visible bump off with a fingernail. Aloe's tough leaves take a fingernail without bruising.

Dab any remaining bumps with a cotton swab dipped in 70% isopropyl alcohol. The alcohol penetrates the waxy seal and kills the insect underneath.

Repeat weekly for 3 weeks to catch newly hatched crawlers.

Option 2

Horticultural oil spray, weekly for 3 weeks

Spray horticultural oil (Bonide All Seasons, ~$15) on every leaf surface and into the leaf bases. Smothers crawlers and adults. Apply at lights-out, every 7 days for 3 weeks. Tip the pot afterward to drain any oil that pools in the rosette center.

Stay ahead of all of them

Four habits that keep aloe vera pests rare and easy to catch.

Rosette and leaf-base check, every Sunday

Mealybugs and scale hide deep where the thick leaves attach to the central rosette. A weekly 30-second pull-the-leaves-apart scan catches colonies while they're still small and the rosette is still tight.

Quarantine new succulents for 2 weeks

Mealybugs travel home from the nursery tucked deep in another aloe or echeveria's rosette. Two weeks of isolation catches them before they crawl over to your collection.

Wipe leaves with a damp cloth monthly

Aloe leaves are smooth, flat, and broad, which makes wiping fast. The wipe catches dust, early spider mites, and scale crawlers before they multiply on the exposed leaf surfaces.

Let the pot go bone dry between waterings

Aloe stores weeks of water in its fleshy leaves and rots fast in damp soil. Bone-dry soil between drinks prevents fungus gnats and the root rot that kills indoor aloes more often than any pest.

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About This Article

Kiersten Rankel M.S.

Botanical Data Lead at Greg · Plant Scientist

About the Author

Kiersten Rankel holds an M.S. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from Tulane University. A certified Louisiana Master Naturalist, she has over a decade of experience in science communication, with research spanning corals, cypress trees, marsh grasses, and more. At Greg, she curates species data and verifies care recommendations against botanical research.

See Kiersten Rankel's full background on LinkedIn.

Editorial Process

Pest identification and treatment guidance verified against Aloe vera field reports from Greg's botanical database, cross-referenced with university extension sources and published horticultural research.

84,888+ Greg users growing this plant

USDA hardiness zones 9a–12b

Citations:
NC State Extension
Mealybug photo: Gianni Del Bufalo (CC BY 2.0)
Fungus gnat photo: B. Schoenmakers (CC BY 3.0)
Spider mite photo: Clemson University - USDA Cooperative Extension, Bugwood.org (CC BY 3.0 US)
Scale photo: Whitney Cranshaw, Bugwood.org (CC BY 3.0 US)