Camellia tea scale is a difficult insect to control once it's taken hold. I have found all-season oil sprays work the best, but you have to spray until you see no more white. That may mean putting on a rain suit and getting a hose-end sprayer. Ortho makes a great one that you just pour the oil in, set the dial and go. No measuring required. You have to spray on the underside until the oil penetrates the scale. Also several applications may need to be applied and once it's under control you can spray seasonally spring and fall when insects are in crawler stages works well too. I had a plant about 6' tall that was so badly infested with scale that I just had to prune it severely then started spraying and it's now under control and beautiful.

Fire ants make mounds and not holes. The mounds start out small and become larger as the colony population increases. These mounds look rather innocent until you disturb them, and ALL of the ants boil out of the mound all at once. Again, there is never a discernible hole. I never worry about ants in my yard and garden, other than fire ants. Fire ants can be a problem for humans, pets, bird nests, beneficial insect eggs and larvae, and such.

My zz plant used to have a scale insect infestation. I didnt do anything to help it out to be honest. But I thought I would start a thread because it has definitely shrugged off the insects by itself. It has been months since it got rid of the insects. The only thing left is some dried out husks from long-dead insects. My zz plant is really small so it wasn't a huge infestation or anything. And these plants are known for being resistant to pests and diseases. But HOW did it do it, is the question? Has anyone heard of or experienced anything similar?

My DIY solution I'm having great succes with a homemade sprayable product called "Zeepspiritus" (EN). It consists of a solution of 2% "Groene zeep" (EN) and 2% "Spiritus" (EN) in water. The Groene zeep causes the Spiritus to stick to the bugs, while the Spiritus (denatured alcohol) kills the bugs. Since bugs lay eggs it's advisable to repeat this treatment shortly after the already dropped eggs have hatched. Groene zeep and Spiritus are just household items overhere. Zeepspiritus costs pennies and works wonderfully. Sprayable solution of Zeepspiritus (Insecticidal soap): 1L Water (1000g). 2% Groene zeep (20g). 2% Spiritus (20g).