To treat this problem Dip a Q-tip or small paintbrush in alcohol and dab each white mass. This will not completely elliminate the insects because they do not all develop at the same time. They are most vulnerable in the crawler stage. A repeated spray of 50% isopropyl alcohol and 50% water is a more effective way to treat mealy bugs. A pump sprayer with pressure works best in penetating the waxy coat and getting into the crevices of the plant. In addition, an ultrafine oil or Neem oil will work on the crawlers. Both alcohol and oil treatment will control mealy bugs safely indoors. Be sure to apply once a week for a month even if you do not see any sign of the insect.
(Google Treating Mealy Bugs)

I left a rosemary plant outside for 15 minutes once in the winter to get rid of bugs. Unfortunately I was living in Winnipeg at the time. it took 3 months for new leaves to come out....

Mealy bugs are common to anyone who has worked in the interior plant maintenance industry (office plants etc). They appear for many different reasons. The most important thing about clearing them is persistence with the above mentioned method. I've seen a lot of it in office buildings, hotels plants etc. It can become nasty if you leave it untreated - you'd definitely lose your plants.

Good luck with this. Let us know how you get on with things.

Cheers,
Peggy

I had mealy bugs on my one of my orchids. I dipped a Q tip in rubbing alcohol and treated it that way. It was easier and faster for me than spraying every 10 days. Instead of just dabbing the mealy bug, I swabbed the area around it to make sure I got any eggs. I have to many plants and didn't want this spreading. Marg

I have also came across the infestation of mealy bugs in my indoor plants few years ago and tried a lot of techniques and methods suggested by my neighbours but could not retrieve my plants from the attack. Later one of my friend in India advised me to use Neem oil as they use that for repelling insects in farms. As per my friend's advice i used Neem oil but then there was not improvement in the control of mealy bugs. I was very much confused about this menace... i took it up myself and researched and read many articles about controlling mealy bugs and found about suggestion of Environmental protection agency of US. All bugs that are found on the indoor plants are not mealy bugs is what i realised and used EPA registered Neem oil from then which showed better results than others.. Hope this article would help you finding a solution.. Try, try, try till you succeed:) Make sure that you keep your environment safe and secure:)

Here is a link that might be useful: Organic Neem oil insecticide for Tiny Bugs infestation in Indoor plants

My indoor lilies have the mealy bug and I cant get rid of them , I tried washing all the bulbs and replanting them. the Amaryllis and another tropical orange lily a friend gave me are the victims and I never had this before, so now on no more keeping the plants out in summer.

You can kill off the bugs by putting your plants in a large plastic bag and spray them with insecticides. This way no insect can escape. Repeat in a week's time just in case there were egg.

It's not clear from the image, but it looks to me like the bugs you have are smooth. All the mealy bugs I've ever dealt with had hairs/spikes. If they are mealy bugs, I've successfully treated them with alcohol as suggested previously.