Last summer I purchased a bay laurier bush and repotted it. at the end of the summer I brought it indoors and it seemed to do fine.

Sometime over the winter it got brown scale and I didn't notice till about a week ago (after I brought it outdoors). I've washed the plant, wiped every leaf and the stem and removed the vast majority of the scale. I'm scared I missed a small section and it will take over again.

I've seen some sites say to dip a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol and then wipe the leaves/stems. I'm scared of poisoning the plant by doing this. Has anyone tried it?

I don't want to use any harsh chemicals, as I'll be using the leaves for cooking once it gets really growing.