Across 25+ years of growing African Violets, I have only occasionally had to deal with Soil Mealybugs. HOWEVER, in the last 2 years, I have had an avalanche of Soil Mealybug issues. I even switched my potting mix supplier after essentially losing every plant which I had repotted that year. But I still continued to receive plants ... from formerly trusted vendors ... which would eventually succumb to death by Soil Mealybugs. I even sent photos to vendors after discovering the silvery residue of Soil Mealybugs around the sides of discarded (essentially dead) AV's, only to be told I was mistaken in my conclusions.

Eventually, I dug out my Bonide, and began to apply a Bonide drench to affected plants, only to see the affected plants eventually rebound and thrive after. I know that the standard AV advice is to mix Bonide into your potting mix, but i just hadn't found it to be necessary for me ... UNTIL recently. So, just a note to say, apparently, BONIDE is no longer an option, but rather a necessity for AV success today.