There's no problem with stripping the foliage but I'd still carefully wash the stems before bringing them in. Not a great year for mine either. Crazy weather. Hopefully next year will be better.

I always spray and clean before I take them in. Unfortunately (or fortunately however you'd like to view it) many have buds and I will be "forced" to pot them and grow them indoors till they bloom. Also, and this time I say fortunately, we are having 80 degree weather again this week so, they can stay out yet for a little while. We'll see what next week brings :-O

Luckily, spraying brugmansias for spider mites is MUCH easier when the leaves fall off!

Check out some neem oil from your local hardware store, mix a tablespoon with a spray bottle full of water, and mist the stems. It knocks 'em dead, but neem oil is otherwise organic and non-toxic. Spray/dump a little more of the mixture into the soil for good measure in case any more are hiding there. With bare stems, you don't have to worry about all the random crevices they can hide in and can thoroughly cover everything.

If they're covered in mites I'm surprised they're not already shedding their leaves on their own as a defense mechanism.

If you can't find Neem Oil.. Check out Neem Tree Farms.. The have some really cool all Natural products.. I got some Neem Oil and an Anti Itch Formula that works Great!!!

Kylie

Here is a link that might be useful: Neem Tree farms