How to Remove Bugs from Cut Hydrangeas

There’s an easy way to remove bugs from cut hydrangeas despite the fact that the delicate blooms have so many places for creepy critters to hide.

Have you ever been excited to bring beautiful hydrangea blooms inside in the summer or fall months, only to discover that they’re full of all kinds of creepy, crawly insects? We all love the beauty of natural blooms in the house, but of course no one wants to pay the price of harbouring an insect colony indoors. The numerous delicate flowers that make up hydrangea blossoms provide so many cozy little places for our insect friends to hide, and the goal is to encourage them to vacate the premises before we bring any flowers in the house. In today’s post, I’ll go over a few different methods to help you ensure that your hydrangeas are bug-free when you’re ready to bring them inside to decorate your house.

Tools Needed for Bringing Bug-Free Hydrangeas into Your Home

When it comes to pest removal for flowers, you’ll need:

• Sharp garden pruners
• A medium-to-large bucket of water
• Neem oil or dishwasher detergent

It really doesn’t take any fancy floral equipment to enjoy bug-free hydrangeas and other indoor flowers. I have a stack of old galvanized buckets that I keep next to the garden hose so I can grab one, fill it up quickly, and start working to water or clean hydrangeas as needed.

Essential gardening tips for hydrangea maintenance: How to Sharpen Worn Out Pruning Shears

Method One: Remove Bugs From Hydrangeas With the Whack and Dunk Method

This method for cleaning hydrangeas works well on summer hydrangeas in full bloom, or hydrangeas just starting to dry and turn color in the fall. This will be the time of year when the bugs are out in full force, so you really need to strongly encourage them to leave your blooms and find somewhere else to go.

For each bloom that you cut, whack it on the ground about six to eight times to really shake things up. Most bugs will fall out after this, or get nervous and scurry away. After whacking the flowers on the ground, immediately dunk them upside down in a bucket of cold water with about one teaspoon of neem oil or dishwasher detergent mixed in, and leave them for about a minute.

After this, place your hydrangeas in a vase or another bucket of cool, fresh water with their stems down to rest for a few minutes before you bring them in the house. This will allow any remaining bugs to escape, and the water to drip out of them before you start making your floral arrangement.

People will sometimes express concern about this dunking method with later-season blooms that are starting to dry, fearing that getting the drying blooms wet will ruin them. There is absolutely no reason for this concern, as these blooms will dry out again beautifully, just as they do outside after a rain storm.

More inspiration for decorating your home with flowers: Hydrangea Decorating Ideas – How to Dry Hydrangeas Perfectly Every Time

Method Two: Wait it Out for Bug-Free Blooms

This bug removal technique requires some serious patience, but it’s the best way to ensure you have blooms that are absolutely, completely bug-free to work with during the fall and winter months. Actually, I like the look of these blooms used year-round and have often seen them displayed this way in big baskets at antique markets.

For dried blooms that are completely free of pests, simply wait until wintertime to cut your blooms, preferably after the temperature has fallen below the freezing mark if you get really cold weather in your area. If you prefer organic methods and natural remedies, this really is the ultimate way to ensure the outdoor hydrangeas that you bring inside are bug-free without ever needing to resort to chemical treatments.

Most places where hydrangeas grow do have fairly cold winters, so this shouldn’t be a problem. When this happens, head outside, cut your blooms, and bring them straight inside. Once you’ve had a good cold snap, most insects will be hibernating or dead, so you won’t have to worry about them at all. This is how I managed to get so many blooms to fill my Christmas tree last year.

The best part of doing it this way is that you can save your blooms to reuse year after year, so once you’ve done this once, you’ll always have dried blooms ready to be displayed. I keep mine out during the fall and winter, then store them away in a big vintage wicker basket over the spring and summer months. I just love the warm brown color and texture that they bring to a space. They’re as easy as artificial blooms, but they bring the true beauty of using real natural elements to your home. We all know Mother Nature is the best decorator, after all.

Don’t forget to pin this idea on Pinterest so you’ll have these insect control ideas and bug prevention tips for indoor hydrangeas when you need them!

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