Mealybug - the worst houseplants pest.

It all starts with little cotton-like deposit on a plant, which might be really hard to notice as it usually appears on the underside of a leaf first. If you touch it and brake that cotton shell, there will be smooth soft insect with yellowish-gray body. This little pest can cost your plant's life...
They reproduce very fast and tend to affect the parts of a plant where the new growth coming out. They suck food from your plant, leaving it lifeless, crooked, damaged. I had a long run battle with mealybugs. They attacked the group of small palm seedlings. I valued them because palms are slow and tricky to grow, it took me 2 years to get them that size, so throwing away whole plant wasn't an option for me. When I discovered those white puffs on my plant, I moved it to an isolated spot and ran through my books. As they recommended, I took the rubbing alcohol and washed the things away with it. At that point I assumed that the problem was solved and forgot about the whole issue.
To my unpleasant surprise in a week or so I found on the same - plant three times more mealybugs. So I tried following: wrapped the pot in a plastic bag, so only plant is outside the bag, and put it under heavy shower. Guess what? It didn't help either. Then I dissolved liquid dish detergent in a water and sprayed infected plant all over including the top part of it's soil. Then I left for three weeks vacation, having my friend to come over and water my plants.
On my return, the second I stepped into the house, I ran to my plants... And was speachless: the new growing leaf of the infected plant was in a such condition that it resembled the cotton swab itself. I looked through the other plants and found mealybugs on my mature Sago palm which was in whole other room. So, note: isolating plant doesn't help. Mealybugs can be transmitted with - I don't know - watering can, your hands etc.
Anyway, next day I went to a store and bought some commercial solution labeled against mealybugs and aphids. I sprayed heavily my plants, pots, soil, next day - again, next day - again, in two days - again, in a week - again. This method helped, I won. damaged leaves, that don't look nice.