| Safer's will work if you squirt the mealies and alcohol applied to a mealies will also kill it. Neither of these products will continue to kill the newly hatched mealies as they emerge to lay more eggs, to hatch and lay more eggs.
The imidacloprid or Merit by name, is a systemic and topical pesticide. Since you are in Canada I don't know as to the availability of the pesticide but we can get it in a big box store in the US. Some of the Bayer rose products here will contain the pesticide, just check the labels.
Because of your birds in the same room I wouldn't spray it and would try to buy it in liquid form that can painted on the plant and drenched in the media. The plant should also have the media removed and new clean media used. The mealies will lay eggs in the media also.
Make sure you get the product in every crack and crevice, including the spikes, because this is a favorite egg laying site too. Then all you have to do is watch the plant like a hawk for the next several months because you can still find a newly hatched mealie for quite a while.
IMHO, this is one of the hardest pests to eliminate.
Brooke  |