Picking

• Gardeners can don their favorite gloves to pick off invading pests. Bring a bucket that is filled with soapy water from drowning your pests. Go through the leaves, stems and blossom of your plant picking off pests. Check underneath leaves. Sift through the soil with a gardening fork to find any pests lurking in the soil. You can also use a piece of tape for picking up tiny pests. Allow the pests to drown in the soapy water for 24 hours before dumping out the contents of the bucket.
  
  

Spraying

• Take houseplants out of the home. Spray the plants down with water from a gardening hose. The force of the water can knock off pests and clean off the plant if it has any sooty mold issues. Sooty mold is a fungal disease that sticks to plants. Wipe off the leaves of the plants with a soft towel. Leaving the leaves wet can encourage fungal diseases. Outdoor plants can be sprayed down in the morning, so the moisture on the leaves evaporates before the cool nighttime temperatures.
  
  

Pruning

• Prune off heavily infested plants. Choose areas that are severely damaged by pests. Dip a pair of bypass shears into a mixture of 70 percent denatured alcohol and 30 percent water. Clean off the shears in between each cut to prevent spreading any fungal diseases. Cut back to healthy outward growing buds. Make downward 45 degree cuts. Place the debris in a garbage bag, but avoid placing in your compost to prevent spreading the pests over the yard.
  
  

Cultural Management

• Refrain from encouraging a flush of new growth, which attracts pests such as mealybugs, according to Colorado State University Extension's website. Avoid using too much fertilizer that encourages a flush of new growth. Space your plants far enough apart that allow for enough air circulation and light. Pests love areas that are dark and moist for feeding and reproducing. Furthermore, make sure that your plant gets enough sunlight. Plants that do not get enough light have problems photosynthesizing, which causes them stress. A pest infestation combined with lack of sun can cause the plant to die out.