I dunno. Mealys are bad enough that I think you're going to need more than soap. Yes, leaving water on fuzzy leaves can make permanent marks on them, especially if the plants are in sun when you get them wet. But, you know, leaving mealybugs on fuzzy leaves is going to kill your plant, and possibly any other plants in the vicinity too (in fact, you should inspect any nearby plants very carefully, I think, because where there's one infestation, there are likely others). So it's kind of a question about whether you want an ugly plant or a dead plant. If it were me, I'd probably be inclined to take a few cuttings and chuck the rest of the plant in the trash: it's not worth fighting mealybugs, to me, just to have a plant that's as easily propagated as Gynura aurantiaca is. (Granted, the cuttings might have mealys too. But if you taken enough cuttings fast enough, you should be able to outrun them.) If you have sentimental attachment to the plant that makes you want to save it, I'd go with some kind of spray containing imidacloprid, follow the label directions (which usually allow for you to spray the plant weekly), and move the plant out of direct sun until the crisis has passed. The safest bet of all is to do both: cuttings and spray. If the spray works, you have multiple plants; if the spray fails, you at least have the cuttings as back-up.

My old eyes can't tell from the picture. But the easiest way to tell is to use a q-tip dipped in some rubbing alcohol and dab the spot. If it comes off or turns reddish-brown, it's a mealy bug. Mealy bugs are my nemesis.

Hi Meg, Thank you! I'm thinking of hand picking off what I see, then rinsing each stand in an alcohol solution. Most strands have dried out about an inch or so at the soil line and it all needs repotted/ rooted anyway. This plant is going to make me crazy trying to find out how often to water to keep it happy. LOL! Most of my collection is outside. This was hanging in the house, with one other plant about 4' away, I hope it's just the string of pearls affected. Good luck to you too! I know these things can be a pain! JoJo

Mealies under the surface of the potting mix attack the roots and get their plant juices from there. Mealies can get between the interior pot wall and the potting mix. If that is where they are hiding you can often just unpot the root ball and you will see their fuzz that they seem to leave behind everywhere they go. Though, in some odd cases I've found them in the potting mix. If it were my plant, and I were battling a persistent infestation, I'd do a couple applications of a systemic insecticide like imidacloprid about a month apart. Though, I understand not everyone will want to use something like that. Really, I think isopropyl alcohol is much easier on the environment by comparison.