Aloe vera or Aloe Barbadensis Miller, which is also known by the name of aloe in some countries, is a plant that normally grown in areas with a subtropical or temperate climate, among which the Mediterranean is included and does not require a large amount of water to survive.
Thanks to its huge amount of propertiesAloe vera is a plant that is used for many products.
Most common diseases of Aloe vera
We can also say that in the world there are approximately 250 varieties of aloe, but that only about two or three of these are those that possess all these properties.
In the same way that it happens with the rest of the plants, aloe vera despite its resistance may be prone to attacks by certain pests and diseasesThat is why today we are going to mention the most common ones.
Among the diseases and problems that can affect aloe vera we can mention the following:
Aphids
These are small insects belonging to the homoptera family, the size of these is quite small and their color may be different depending on the species. They are the cause of a great variety of serious problems due to the enormous proliferation that they have, which means that they reproduce very quickly.
Mites
These are tiny insects that are often a nightmare for plants, since they use all parts of the plant as their food source, in this way they cause damage that is very serious and thus cause the death of the plant.
White fly
Despite that this little insect has wings, can be quite harmful and feeds voraciously on aloe vera. The largest amount of damage is produced by the eggs as well as the larvae left by adult flies and, having the ability to fly, they spread very easily.
Miller beetles or also called flour beetles
The name that these small insects have is due to the white color they have and usually are confused with mealybugs even though they are not. They use the triangulations of the plant as their food.
Treatment for aloe vera diseases
It is important that we can the leaves of the aloe that are withered or have a yellow color, for that we can use pruning shears. We must also remove the leaves that are seriously affected by insects.
Then we have to spray the plant with the help of a strong jet of water so that the remaining insect pests are completely eliminated.
Some of the pests we mentioned earlier can simply be eliminated with water. The fungus gnats They usually have their hiding place underground, so if we have this plant in a pot or container, it is important that we separate it from other plants so that they are not contaminated with insects.
If we see that it is very affected, and if the soil has any signs of disease, such as the presence of fungi, then we will have to transplant it to another pot, with new soil. In this video we explain how to do it:
Once this is done, we can remove the insects that remain with our hands. We can rub off the stems and leaves with the help of a cotton swab.
When we have already removed the insects from our path, we have to place a special tape to catch insects, which is the yellow adhesive, near the aloe vera plant so that we can catch flies as well as mosquitoes in their adult stage.
We spray our aloe vera plant with an insecticide that is registered to be used on indoor plants and we follow each of the instructions found on the label to know the application rate.
This is a process that we must repeat at least every three to four days for a couple of weeks to be able to eliminate the insects in their adult stage that hatch after having applied the sprays. An oil spray can be of great help to eliminate mealybugs as well as scale insects, since this product is responsible for suffocating the insects.
My aloe vera has like little white crystals. What is it? How do I permanently eliminate them? Thank you !!
Hello Montse.
As it is a rather small plant, you can remove them by hand, with a cloth or brush.
Anyway, when you water, do you wet it? If so, it could be that those spots were lime. It is important not to wet the leaves or flowers of the plants to avoid this and other problems (rot).
A greeting.
Good afternoon, my Aloe has what is called cancer ... I have found it here on the webb, the problem is that they do not tell me how to solve it ... I have many plants and I do not want it to spread, if this is possible ... I would also like to know if the remaining healthy leaves of that same infected plant can be used for ingestion or external use. So is it only harmful to her or to the human as well?
Hi Marian.
It is true that plants can have cancer, but in aloes it is very, very rare. Can you send photos of your plant to Contact@jardineriaon.com ? So we can help you better.
Greetings and thanks.
hello you can use effective acaricides by contact (carbaryl), translaminar (spiromesifene) and systemic action (spirotetramat), which can be used to cure and prevent the damage of the aloe mite plant in combination with cultural practices one application every 2
and every 4 months if it is aloe to market its gel, remove the affected leaves little by little, patience The treatment is effective in some cases depending on the severity it may take time. prevent the spread of the mite to other healthy plants, discard the infected parts, bury them and apply lime.
Hello, my aloe vera has white and brown spots under its leaves. They break off and the edge is pale brown in color. A few months ago we put her on the ground and she started getting sick a month ago. I would like to know how to revive it? Thank you very much !!!