How To Get Cactus Needles Out Of Clothes

How To Get Cactus Needles Out Of Clothes | 7 No-Prick Tips!

Whether you’re an avid gardener or simply dabble in the world of gardening, you’ve probably tried your hand at growing cactus and succulents. These gorgeous plants are relatively low maintenance and look great on your property. 

However, they also typically feature several spiky needles that can easily get into your clothes while you’re working in the flower bed. 

To get cactus needles out of clothes you can use a simple method involving duct tape, a fine-tooth comb, and tweezers. 

Step One: Lay the Clothes Out on a Flat Surface

The first step to getting cactus needles out of your clothing is to place your clothes on a flat surface. Make sure that the cactus needles are sticking up when you lay the clothes out. 

Now, we know that it can be daunting to remove clothes with cactus needles in them. Take things slow and be careful as you take off the clothes to avoid piercing yourself with the cactus needles as you do so. 

Once you’ve got the clothes off your body, you need to continue handling the clothes with care. After all, there are still spines poking out of the clothing that can pierce your skin. 

With the clothing laid out on the counter, you’re ready to get to work taking cactus spines out of the clothes. 

woman holding cactus with glochids

Tackling Glochids

Glochids are small, short, and very fine cactus needles that resemble little hairs. If you have lots of glochids in the clothing you may need to take a few additional steps. Be extra careful when getting these out of your clothes as they can easily get into your skin and cause irritation.

Tackling Large Spines

If you only have large spines in your clothes, you don’t need to take any extra steps. Simply lay the clothing out flat and you’re ready to dive into getting the needles out of your clothing. If you’re only tackling large needles you can skip down to step three.

Step Two: Get a Pair of Pantyhose

With the clothing laid out on a flat surface, you’re ready to get to work. You’ll start by tackling the tiny glochid spines that cactuses often leave in your clothes. 

To get glochids out of your clothing, grab an old pair of pantyhose that you’re okay with throwing away. Then, quickly rub the pantyhose up and down the clothing to help attract the glochids. 

Step Three: Dab with Duct Tape

After you’ve rubbed the clothing down with pantyhose, it’s time to move on to tackling the more stubborn cactus spines. For this method, you’ll want to get a few strips of duct tape. 

With the duct tape in hand, tear off a few strips and cover the affected area of the clothing with the tapes. Then, pull the duct tape up off the clothing. You’ll notice that most of the remaining glochids come off the clothing with this method. 

This method works much the same as waxing your legs. If there are a lot of small glochids on your clothes you’ll most likely have to repeat this process a few different times. 

Step Four: Use a Fine-Tooth Comb

Fine Comb To Clean Cactus Pricks

If you’ve only got a couple of cactus spines in your clothing, you don’t likely need to use this step. However, if your clothing is bombarded with tons of different large spines, a fine-tooth comb is a great tool. 

For this step, gently run your comb down the clothing through the needles. This helps pull the spines out of the clothing, but it will leave a few stray spines behind. 

Step Five: Tackle With Tweezers

The last step to getting cactus needles out of your clothes is to get a pair of tweezers. This method is important for getting rid of those last few large spines that are stuck in your clothing. 

You may find that after using tweezers you still have a few stubborn spines leftover. If that’s the case you can use duct tape one more time to get the last of the glochids and smaller needles out of your clothing. 

Step Seven: Properly Dispose of the Cactus Needles

Once you’ve got the spines out of your clothes, your job isn’t over. You need to carefully clean up all the spines that you’ve removed from your clothing by placing them in a sealable plastic bag. 

Make sure that you keep your plastic bag out of the way of children and pets. You want to prevent the spines from getting onto even more clothes or worse, skin. 

Step Eight: Wash Your Clothes

Once you’ve disposed of the spines, it’s time to wash your clothes. Put them straight into the washing machine and make sure not to wash your clothes with any other items. 

You can use a normal cycle to wash them and throw in your favorite eco-friendly laundry cleaner. This step of the process will get rid of any lingering cactus needles that you might have missed. 

Use Laundry Machine After Removing Cactus Needles Out Of Clothes

Frequently Asked Questions

If you’ve still got a couple of questions about getting cactus needles out of your clothes, you’re not alone. Here are a couple of answers to commonly asked questions about getting cactus needles out of your clothing.

How do you remove small cactus needles?

Small cactus needles are the toughest to get out, whether it’s from skin or clothes. To get small cactus needles from the skin, spread some Elmer’s white glue on the affected area. To get them out of your clothes, you can use nylon pantyhose and duct tape. 

Will cactus needles come out on their own?

Although it’s tempting to just wait for cactus needles to come out of your clothes on their own, the truth is that most of the time they won’t. It’s important to take the above steps to get rid of the cactus needles and avoid hurting yourself or others.