Flying bugs like fungus gnats can make an appearance in or around your aloe plants for several reasons although most tend to do with the soil and how well you maintain it. Here are the steps for quickly getting rid of the tiny flies before the infestation becomes an even bigger problem.
Over-watering tends to be the main culprit for the development of fungus gnat infestations on aloe plants. Fungus gnats and other similar flying bugs love moisture and dampness. aloe plants don’t require excessive moisture to thrive. You are overwatering your plant if the soil remains super soggy and develops tiny puddles of water. The simplest solution to getting rid of fungus gnats on aloe plants is to reduce the amount of watering. You only need to water the plant when the top layer of the soil looks dry.
If you are using self-watering pots or automated plant watering systems, you may want to re-configure the frequency of watering the device is set to. These devices add a lot of convenience but can introduce fungus gnat problems as they are designed to keep the soil damp at all time.
Fungus gnats will also appear around aloe plants if the soil quality is poor. You might have brought in aloe plants that have been potted in gnat-infested soil. The existing soil may also not be draining well and this adds to the problem we highlighted on over-watering. If you suspect that the soil is the problem then you will need to repot the aloe plants in high-quality potting mix that drains well and is free of pests.
Placing a few yellow sticky traps around the aloe plants may help get rid of adult fungus gnats but they won’t resolve the originating cause of the bug infestation. To completely get rid of the flies around the aloe plants, you need to also eradicate the larvae and eggs in the infested soil.
Repotting, however, isn’t an easy step as household plants like aloe plants can be quite sensitive to a change in environment and may end up going through transplant shock. Instead of repotting, one alternative method to consider is using mosquito bits. Let it soak in the water used for the aloe plants. We would suggest letting the mosquito bits or dunks soak for at least 24 hours in order for this method to be effective.
Hello everyone. I recently transplanted my aloe to a bigger pot. Since then, the amount of gnats has gone out of control. I am suspecting there is something with the soil I used but not sure.
My indoor aloe vera plant is attracting so many of these fruit flies (gnats? are they same thing?). I’ve tried the apple cider vinegar method but it only caught a few flies. Anything else that has actually worked for you peeps?
I feel like the fungus gnats are leaving small scabs on my aloe plant. Do the gnats actually eat the flesh of the aloe vera plant?
Has anyone tried using peppermint oil to deter the gnats from the aloe vera plant? Would be great if someone could confirm before I buy some!!
Nah peppermint oil didn’t work for me. I would try someting else to be honest. Maybe you will have luck as I have had with using the mosquito bits water.