- 1). Identify the pest. If it looks like a small green worm, it may be the cabbage worm. Microscopic red to brown spiders are spider mites. Clusters of tiny green bugs may be aphids. If you are in doubt as to which insect is infesting your brugmansia, take a specimen to your county cooperative extension office for identification.
- 2). Pick off pests that are large enough to handle, such as the cabbage worm, and drop them into a bucket of water to which you've added a tablespoon of liquid dish soap.
- 3). Spray the brugmansia with a strong blast of water from the hose. This step will sometimes take care of small spider mite and aphid infestations. Make sure to spray the undersides of the leaves as well as the surface.
- 4). Spray the brugmansia with insecticidal soap. Read the labels as you shop for the soap to make sure that the one you purchase is safe for your plant. If in doubt, spray one leaf and wait 24 hours. If it appears to be safe, spray the product directly on the pests until they are covered. You will need to repeat the application, according to package directions, for three to four weeks to break the life cycle of pests such as spider mites.
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