Don't think woolly aphids but another white pest :(

This has gone viral on a neighbours Pieris over recent days and unfortunately obviously went unnoticed until now and it's unfortunately migrated over to my yard & I'm now finding the same on my bonsai so hugely concerned. Neither of us have ever encountered it - presumably a bug of some kind rather than a fungus as we first thought but my bug spray doesn't show it so keen to find out how best to tackle. I think she appreciates her Pieris is doomed - it had been hit last year by a black sooty almost oily deposit from somewhere & while it seemed to do well earlier in the year with a lot of new growth & flushes of red, this won't be helping :(.

We're in Belfast UK.
Thanks.

 

Sorry, but I think it is wooly aphids, and sooty mould

 

? Mealybug/RHS Gardening

 

Yes. That is what I discovered on some of my plants. Mealy bugs. But not anywhere near that heavy an infestation! Mine looked just like that and I put one under a mini microscope to compare to online pest i.d. pictures and that is what matched.

@Marley Farley has a great recipe for getting rid. I have already used the neem oil spray but was looking for an easier to source oil.

Mealy Bugs, neem or lavender or??

 

So far, the neem oil/water solution I used seems to be having success. Lots of dead and immobile.... And perhaps, since there were no neighbours outside when I sprayed, the extra cursing out helped too...

I will complete my bug killing shopping list this coming week