I think I may have found a way to get rid of an infestation of waxy white mealy bugs on my young potted grapefruit. Seems almost too good to be true. Namely, the hand cleaner: Goop. Applied on the bugs, it worked like a charm. They washed right off.

Goop has a magically strong detergent ingredient for getting grease off the hands of car mechanics. Also works for poison ivy.

Didn't seem to harm the plant, though I tried to carefully get it on the bugs not the leaves, which I rinsed off promptly. The little bit that got on the leaves had not ill effects, though. Detergent makes water wetter.

The plant is inside now and we shall see. Pest problems usually show up around February inside, in my experience. Mealy bugs are the worst and I don't want to put poisons on my edibles, even though I don't eat the grapefruit (only have had one, so far).