Milkweed bugs - ugh! I mix up a container (cool whip size) with a mixture of Kirk's Castille soap with hot water and then go to each plant and knock them in the water. It kills them quickly. You have to do it continually and really try to get them when they are clustered around the stems. You can also spray the plants but then you have to rinse the plants well or the Monarchs won't lay on them. I do find that they don't like the Silky gold milkweed as much - that's the milkweed that has completely yellow flowers. The Monarchs really like it so if you can find it - which isn't easy to do - try it. Aphids you can spray off with a strong stream of water but that even can hurt the plant. I don't bother with them but the MW bugs do damage the stems of the plant. You will find little black places where they have eaten into it. I usually take a bar of the soap, which I get at Publix, and put it in a container with hot water. Let it sit and get the water kinda slimy then pour that into a gallon jug. Add hot water to that, shake gently so that you don't get too much suds then use that in your cool whip container.

That would be a mealybug, unfortunately. I assume that this infestation is on your indoor plants? My favorite method is to mist the plants with a solution of one part rubbing alcohol to three parts water. This will not only get the large ones, but the babies that you haven't even noticed yet. The spray can also get into the nooks and crannies. A Q-tip soaked with alcohol is a time tested method to get rid of adults. But you'll miss a zillion of the babies. Alcohol is safe on most indoor plants...if the leaves are very sensitive, fragile, fuzzy, etc....you should probably avoid it. I've used it for many years and have never harmed a plant.

Yep, aphids. The best way to get rid of them is to look around for Lady Bugs (or other beneficials that feed on soft bodied insects.) If you see them, don't do anything. If you don't see them, just spray them off with a stream of water. The water needs to spray hard enough to knock them off (they have a tough time finding their way back up the plant,) but not so hard to damage the plant. If you only have a few plants, a spray bottle usually works just fine.

I let mine hang around for a while, but i wanted to collect seed this year... and these guys suck sap (i assume) since the seed heads wither. I just did the soapy bucket below and knock the stem... and they fall off for the most part. The small ones need some extra persuasion.