I have never heard of using a shop vac for that purpose. Think about it. You'd end up vacuuming whole plants into the cannister.

People do use hand held vacs, however, and there are even special vacuums just for this purpose.

Recently read an anecdote from someone who used a dust-buster type thing to remove the brown bits from her Boston fern. That sounded a lot quicker if one has let a lot of brown accumulate. I also worry shop vac might be a bit too strong.

What are you battling? This (general idea of suction) might help with spider mites. I wonder about aphids. They grab on well.

I have used it to suck up dead leaves, etc around my roses, but haven't thought to try it on insects.

I use mine to suck up Stink Bugs on my blueberries and in my vegetable garden. Works great, puts a real good dent in their population if you do it a few days in a row.

What a great idea! I live in stink bug heaven. We don't spray chemicals. We are surrounded by weeded empty lots. Bug heaven.