Soak them in some bleach water or hydrogen peroxide. Whether they can spread RRD or not it's a good idea to keep them disinfected. I don't do it between every plant (like I should) when I'm pruning but I do clean them frequently.

Yes the bleach solution is the most effective way to disinfect your pruners but there are 2 things you should know:

Bleach only disinfects "surfaces" so you should wipe off any dirt or plant debris on your pruners before dipping in the bleach solution (a cap full of bleach in a pint of water will be plenty strong). It only needs to be wet with this solution for 1 min. to be effective.

Bleach solutions form Hypochlorous acid which is very corrosive to the metal in your pruners. After disinfecting, wipe your pruner dry with a clean paper towel. Then spray a metal parts with WD40 & work all moving parts (blade hinge, spring & lock)& reapply a little extra WD40 to these moving parts. Let sit for a few minutes & wipe down pruners so there is just a very light coating of WD40 left.

You might want to try Lysol instead. Rather than typing up the full explanation, I'll give you a link to an article about it from somebody who actually knows what she's talking about, unlike me!

Here is a link that might be useful: Disinfecting pruning tools

Speaking with an orchid grower told me that flame (gas stove, lighter) is actually the best sterilizer. A bleach soak requires 30 minutes to remove most pathogens. Flame does it better faster (just a few seconds) and does not damage the metal in the way bleach (a corrosive) does. Orchid growers are much more fanatic about spreading bacterial and fungi than rose growers, so I trust that opinion.

It's also easy to carry a lighter around in your pocket in the garden.

Wow, hoovb, I have never heard of disinfecting my garden tools by using a lighter. I'm going to give it a try. Thanks! :)

I wish Chalker-Scott had differentiated between treatment for bacteria, fungi, phytoplasmas, viruses (and the different viruses at that.)

I would expect a lighter would do real damage to a finely honed edge.

I have used denatured alcohol and take tools large enough and put them in hot coals.

I quench them after I take them out of the coals.\

I use rubbing alcohol full strength, I carry a large plastic coffee-can out to the garden and use 3 pruners, every time I finish a rose I dunk the clipper into the alcohol and leave it, and take another clipper to use on the next rose.... it only takes abt. 30 seconds to sterilize the clippers... I also grow orchids and this method is used by pro. orchid folks... I fill the coffee-can w/alcohol and it covers the clippers...if there is debris on the clipper I wipe it off w/a rag I carry, before I dunk it into the alcohol..... when finished I put the lid back on the can so the alcohol doesn't evaporate, and drop it and the clippers into a larger plastic pail to carry back into the house....works for me....sally