Mealy bugs

[Rwhb12]

What answers for non USA pesticides - as you know most things have been banned over here in the wonderful EU

[estación seca]

I don't use pesticides. I use persistence. After all, we need to wash our hands more than once in our lives.

[Ironwood]

Directions on my neem oil container are;
1 1/2 teaspoons of neem oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of dish soap added to a quart of water. I fill my 32 ounce sprayer so it's about 5/6 full of water, (don't measure, just a guess) add the neem and soap and top up with 70% alcohol. I use a tablespoon for my measurements of neem oil and dish soap so my measurements are not 100% accurate.
As As for the dish soap sometimes a little less can be better than extra as some of the new dish soaps are more concentrated than some of the older ones were.

[SundayGardener]

As a note of interest, I have tried what is basically a silicone plant shine spray in the past, having read that it works to deter mealies and scale by making leaves slippery--too slippery for the pests to get a hold. I had some concerns about blocking intake of moisture but all plants survived. I might try this again in conjunction with granules (most just flush away). Personally I have never had much success with Neem oil but if persistence is the key, I'll try again. I try to be tolerant but I really hate mealies and japanese asian beetles. If I were further south my list would be much longer!

EC, I remember at one point you were plant sitting, and you soaked bare root plants for 2-3 days under water to kill all the bugs?