My poor First Love Gardenia

[SniffMyPics]

I have a potted "First Love" gardenia I bought a couple months ago. I've had gardenias previously and I can't seem to keep them alive but I love them so I keep trying. I have a major problem with ants and what I believe is the white scale bug. They keep attacking the tips of the gardenia keeping it from blooming and growing eventually it gets so bad it just kills the plant. I try to pick them off but no matter how hard I fight back they always seem to return in full force. I've also tried lady bugs. What do I do? The same thing happens when I try and grow strawberries. I can't keep the white scale from killing my plants.

 

[Modern Druid]

Maybe you could try natural pesticide, such as nicotine and spraying the plant with that. Nicotine is a natural pesticide, and tomatoes, potatoes, egglpants, and peppers produce it to keep herbivores from attacking the plants. I don't know if it's safe for that plant, but someone else might know.

 

[Tjohn]

Neem Oil is an effective and non-toxic treatment for scale.