Horticultural oil in the appropriate mixture with water, works as well, if not better than just vegetable oil, in my experience. Organic gardening is a lot of work, any problem plants with pests will have to be treated repeatedly, over and over and over and over, until the life cycle of that pest/disease, what ever the threat is, disappears or weakens enough that the plant/fruit will be able to survive without too much damage.Enviromental conditions and the health of the plants really is the key factor of organic gardening pest solutions. Weakened plants have a higher risk of pest problems, and when possible should be removed to lessen the threat those nearby. Be cautious when using any mixtures with oils during bright sunlight, or high temperatures! The oil definitely will cover and smother the pests, and will do the same to the leaves, cutting off respiration and encasing the leaf like seran wrap, the heat will cause a closed greenhouse effect ( imagine being in a ziploc bag in 90/100 degrees) while the light is reacting with the oil like a magnifying glass and increasing the temperature. It can cause serious damage to the leaf tissue. I treat plants early morning/late evening or on overcast days then hose off spray in 2-3 hours.I'm suprised the above mentioned site said not to use on palms, there is a serious infestation of oriental scale threatening sago palms in Florida,( sagos are not truly palms but simular) and this is the one method that seems to work, I've been using it for years! OH! Tea tree oil is an excellent repellant for small sucking insects, add couple drops to spray bottle with hort. oil mixture and shake, use as described above.
Ref. http://mgonline.com/cycadscale.html