I usually just spray with water to knock them off, but a heavy infestation earns a dousing with 3 tbsp. Neem oil, 1 tbsp. baby shampoo, and 2 tbsp. rubbing alcohol mixed in a gallon of water. Spray thoroughly, all over the plant, and leave it in shade, away from direct light until it is completely dry. Works great. I re-treat the plant once a week for 3 weeks, so I get any that may have been missed.

If that doesn't work, I pull out the big guns. I treat as above, but also water the plant with BATS (bayer advanced tree and shrub), following directions on the bottle. The spray kills the ones already alive and chewing that will still be eating the plant until the systemic kicks in (BATS is the systemic)The BATS prevents a heavy load reinfestation for up to 6 months.

Bayer Advanced also has a 3 in 1 product that kills insects, disease and mites. My husband works for Bayer and I use the professional version of this product often.

Can the 3in1 also be used to water the plants with as a systemic?

Yes. The one in the pic is what I was talking about. I shortened it to BATS. And, yes, it is a systemic.

The one in the pic is the bayer 3in1 disease insects and mites(the product that i have). I thought the BATS was the bayer tree and shrub version...... can they both be used the same.

Yes...if you look at that label, it says trees shrubs roses and flowers. BATS just leaves out the roses and flowers because the acronym would just be weird if it was BATSRF. Lol.

I need to pick some of this stuff up. I dread the day I get a mealy bug infestation in something like my Hoya bella. Organic stuff is nice enough in a pinch, and I generally have stuff on hand for my veggie gardens, but when it comes to mealy bugs on my Hoyas all tree huggery goes out the window. ;-)

I have 2 ardisia house plants and they both have scales. One had them really bad and i sat there picking dozens of the things off since i really like the plant and cant seen to find it anywhere else. I have been spraying them with neem but i notices tons of little baby scales had appeard so this morning i watered the 2 plants with this.

Hope it doesn't hurt them!

I mentioned this product before (I'm not affiliated with the company, I just really love their product), but there is a non-toxic foliage cleanser/leaf shine that also happens to kill/repel scale and mealy bugs. Works wonders for me! It's perfect for Hoyas, although I would use caution with any of the more delicate leaf variety.

http://buybrandx.com/bx/index.htm