I love this idea - the spray of water, hot or not. Thanks for posting. I love hearing about natural approaches that are also cheap & easy. I always thought I was being lazy in that I've never really done much about pests in my garden. Other than the occasional snail problem (Last year they ate 3 successive melon transplants! And attacked my peppers!), I don't seem to have pest problems to the point where I get enough damage I mind. I certainly do have some pests, but from experience and now my reading over this winter, I'm guessing my efforts paid off more than I expected. I plant lots of marigolds wherever they fit in the veggie garden. Nasturtiums, too. Various herbs get either planted there or their pots get dug in. My veggie garden is also near my perennial garden, and I'm a fan of perennials that attract butterflies. I learned this winter that many of these same perennials also attract beneficial insects, and I do have a lot of those in my gardens. So I guess I've been keeping a decent balance of beneficials and pests all along. I've been growing my veggie garden a little every year, but last fall we made it significantly larger. I've been worried the pests would invade now that the snack bar is bigger. Maybe not? I read this winter about golden marguerite being one of the best in this regard, so I got some seeds. I have a zillion little seedlings now, and I'm planning to plant them just outside the veggie bed. They're pretty - what the heck. I'm also adding more flowers & herbs in various places. I'm hoping it works. Lazy has been pretty nice! ... But maybe I'll hang out at night with a spray bottle of hot water to attack the slugs if they come near my melons this year. That would certainly be satisfying....

Got this from ECHO Cornell Insecticide-Fungicide 5 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil 1 Tablespoon Baking Soda 4 Tablespoons Safers Soap OR 2 teaspoons liquid dish soap (such as Ivory, Joy, etc. But NOT Dawn) 1 Gallon water Mix well. For best results spray plants in early morning or late afternoon. Spray again 7-10 days later and repeat 3 to 4 times. Comments: This spray is not effective for insect eggs, thus weekly use for the newly hatched insects. Note the change in the unit of measure for the soaps. Dawn has a chemical that can remove the thin waxy coat of leaves and is not recommended for use. Safers soap is more expensive than ordinary dish soaps. This spray formula looks mild but will kill the very young plant shoots when used in the heat of the day.

I figured I should post a follow up in case it can help others in a similar situation. For a heavier bather load we might have considered a UV or ozone system, but seeing as we were new to owning a hot tub, we were hesitant to invest the money to upgrade the system (from what we could find, it would be at least several thousand dollars) when we had no idea how much use the hot tub would get. It did take several months and a few flushes of water for the hot tub to stop smelling heavily of chlorine. We did a few weeks of letting it run with some soda in the water with no bathers, to try to remove the odor and replaced the filters completely. We decided to try Ahhnatural's system for the tub, and it has worked beautifully. I would probably consider the hot tub usage light, and we've enforced quick pre-showering with no problems (our guests were happy to use a hot tub in a pretty backyard, so no fuss about needing to pre-shower). That being said, the hot tub is a pleasure now. We've shocked regularly, and extra after holidays when the tub had extra use with guests. We've occasionally used an enzyme designed for hot tubs. We have no slime, no smell and clear water. No dry skin or rashes. We don't find we need to check on it often when it's not been used. In addition to my being able to use it safely, my family members don't smell of chlorine to make me ill. While I'm sure those who would not like to pre-shower or those with small children that might pee the tub may need chemical treatment, for those who are sensitive to normal hot tub treatments the Ahhnatural system has worked well for us. I paid full price for their system, this isn't a paid endorsement and I've not spoken to them since I did my online order, so aside from my favoritism for non-chemical systems, I feel this is a fairly unbiased review. Hopefully it will help someone else.

Bayer Natria is a product line with a lot of different products, all with different active ingredients. The do have a Natria Neem product. They also have an insecticidal soap under Natria line, and a few others. As gardengal suggests, its really best to attempt to identify what you are fighting and the choose your weapon accordingly. Neem is effective, but not immediately - it interferes with pests feeding and reproduction, and if you already have a bad infestation it may not be fast enough to save your plant, depending on how far the infestation has progressed. You will need a few applications 3 - 5 days apart to kill an established population. If your plant is in real trouble Bayer 3-in-1 systemic is effective for both mealies and mites, but I advise reading carefully about all 3 of the active ingredients before making a decision to use and would never spray it inside (though many use it as a drench - do be careful with runoff if doing this). If your plant is in trouble you probably want to spray immediately - outside. The main systemic, imidapclorid, is somewhat controversial. If your majesty palms keep getting sick, you may not quite have found the perfect conditions - pest problems often become significant when plants are weak, which is common indoors in the lower light and humidity during the winter. Palms can be difficult to keep healthy indoors no matter what the labels on them say. I gave up trying, after having two majesty palms grow like crazy all summer long outside, and then decline quickly after coming indoors.