Question
I am a first time flower person.  I have wave petunias and regular petunias planted in pots and boxes around my patio.  Some are doing really well and look great.  I have two pots that are dying, and a long box that has one plant dying at the far end.

They are dying, to the best of my knowledge, because of a little black spherical thing on them.  They are little black balls and they get all over on of the long arms that grow out and then all the new buds start to die so nothing else grows after the current flowers die and the new buds turn brown and then the leaves turn brown.  

They are in now way covering the whole plant but are completely obvious to the naked eye.  They don't move at all, they are just little black balls on the leaves and buds.  They aren't really attached and come off easily.

I have tried bug killer but not yet tried any of the disease killing things.  But I can't find what this looks like in any photo on the web and I can't even find anything that looks like an accurate description of it.

I have rambeled long enough; any thoughts?

Answer
Samantha, I didn't get the impression you were rambling at all - a thorough description is key to getting the right answer to your question.  Thank you for "rambling"!

Petunias are susceptible to beetles, aphids and slugs.  Could you maybe have flea beetles?  These are tiny, black specks that eat holes in the leaves of Petunias and other flowering plants.  They jump like fleas when disturbed.

I feel strongly about using bug killer around our garden.  Look at all the unnecessary exposure you have put yourself through, and you haven't even figured out what bug is growing on your flowers.  Much easier to wait until rains wash away all those pesticides - then buy yourself a bag of ladybugs, sprinkle them around the petunias, and watch Nature take its course.

This sounds too easy.  It is however the best way to get rid of any bug you don't like.  Ladybugs eat everything.