In Cyprus, the tree is subject to several scale insects: Aspidiotus ceratoniae, Lecanium sp., Lepidosaphes sp. and the red scale, Aonidiella aurantii. A beetle, Cerambyx velutinus, may bore holes in the trunk. Rats climb the trees, hide among the branches, gnaw the bark until the branches die. Such branches are pruned out twice a year. The only pests reported as attacking carob trees in California are scale insects, including the red scale. Ground squirrels feed on plants under 2 years of age. Pocket gophers are very fond of carob roots, and rabbits and deer graze on the young trees.

Diseases are few. In Cyprus, deformation of young pods may be caused by the fungus Oidium ceratoniae. Cercospora ceratoniae occasionally induces leaf-spotting.