Gardening and Horticulture - shrubs in trouble

i recently noticed that most of the bushes in my yard are covered with what looks like mold, and after looking closer, i noticed that they are also covered with tiny leech looking bugs. i think they are called scales, but im not sure. is there any way to save my shrubbary, and are the mold and these insects connected? HELP!
thanks::eek:

See if these sites can help you to identify what you have.

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/focus/

http://www.agnr.umd.edu/users/hgic/diagn/

Good luck,
Newt

it sounds like you do in fact have scale which is an insect problem,the mold that you see is probably what is commonly called sooty mold(it is black like soot and is easily rubbed off)
what happens is that as the scale is sucking the juices from your shrubs they secrete a sugary liquid called honeydew the sooty mold grows on and lives off of the sugar found in the honey dew. sooty mold does not hurt your plants but the scales certainly will.
the timing of an insecticide application for scale is absolutely critical for effective control,you have to spray them when they are in what is called the crawler stage of their life cycle. different types of scale enter the crawler stage at different times so figuring out what type of scale you are dealing with is important.
if you can get back to me with the names of the plants that are infested i may be able to be of more assistance,also a brief description of the actual scale would help,such as aprox. size color,etc.
another option is to take a sample to a local extension service or a reputable garden center they may be able to help you as well.
good luck,scale can be very tough to elliminate,it may take some patience and persistance to win this battle...
hope this helped,
CT. arborist,ron r.