Think enough of us have used it at some point to know it's pretty safe! Pretty sure it's used at one tablespoon per gallon of water!

Also believe with mealies, Denise recommends checking under the lips of pots, etc because they can hide!

Good luck!

Yes, BATS is safe for my Hoyas also. Some people use up to one ounce (2) tablespoons per gallon of water...but check the directions on the container because I can't remember and don't have the bottle right in front of me. Keep it away from children and pets and make sure you follow all the safety recommendations. I treat mine outside and let it completely stop dripping before I bring the plants back inside. Make sure you use the one that's recommended for "container use". Its the one with directions on how much to use depending on container size. Remember, don't spray this solution on the leaves...this is a soil drench.

If you want to try something more Organic(has neem oil)...I tried using this one recently, but haven't had it long enough to really know if it really works? I've only had it for about 2 weeks. But, I would be careful since this one you spray it directly on the plants and some plants and hoyas might be very sensitive...always try it out on a leaf first and see how it reacts...like with anything new its best to be overly cautious.

Here is a link that might be useful: Schultz Fungicide/Insecticide

Mealies are a huge pain in the butt when it comes to Hoyas. I have tried almost everything and still I constantly battle mealies in my collection. A friend gave me enough BATS to treat my plants and the mealies are still here so I fear they are resistant to that insecticide.
Whatever you use it is best to rotate products and if you use BATS to drench the soil then also use a NEEM or soapy water spray to take care of the bugs on the plant itself. The different stages of mealies are all susceptible to treatments at different times but you have to spray again with the soapy water or alcohol about every three days to take care of the eggs that hatch. If your plant is small enough completely immerse it in soapy water in a bucket for an hour or so and drown as many mealies as possible.

Good luck and keep trying.

Mike

It's been a particularly bad year for buggers for me, too. I keep finding scale (which seem to come on any Hoya I get from tropical regions, especially) and even though I thought I had mealies somewhat whipped, I'm finding them again now. Not that you EVER really get completely rid of them... The worst part is they're so hard to see when you have "old eyes" - my bifocals don't work that well, so I see close/small things better with my glasses off, which is a hassle - on, off, on, off... I need one of those "granny chains" on my glasses for when I'm working in the GH!

But no, I've never seen any ill-effects using BATS. I think you'd actually see more issues with topical stuff than a water-in insecticide. For instance, you have to be careful not to put your plants back in a sunny location right away after using alcohol as it can create ugly spots on your leaves. And I don't know about neem - I've never tried it. I don't like the idea of an oil clogging the pores on my plants.

Denise in Omaha

I'm finding a lot of tiny scale outbreaks recently too, which is a huge bummer. I've found BATS safe to use, although I use neem a lot more. My plants seem perfectly content with neem and I haven't seen any ill effects.

I had this episode with neem the other night, actually. I'd opened all the windows to let in some of this cool air we've been enjoying recently, including a window near my large rooting aquarium. Well, the light fixture attracted a whole SWARM of little gnatty bugs, and when I entered the room that night my mosquito netting curtains (LOL irony) and my aquarium looked like a bug breeding facility. Well, I was in a red hot fury, so I whipped out the neem and went crazy spraying the heck out of the curtains and the aquarium (inside and out)and I was pretty shocked to see the instant death it inflicted on those bugs. I've heard it affects different bugs in different ways, and in this case, it seemed to be some kind of paralysis or swift death. Well,that calmed me down a bit, although I probably didn't need to be that crazy over a harmless gnat infestation.