diff --git a/scale-testing.mk b/scale-testing.mk
index 18e9e947..2f98d2aa 100644
--- a/scale-testing.mk
+++ b/scale-testing.mk
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
 AWS_REGION ?= us-east-2
 EKS_K8S_VERSION ?= 1.30
 
+# testing dev instances is currently not supported
+# TODO: create the docker registry (e.g. ECR) to enable dev builds
 VERSION ?= 0.8.1
 INTEGRATION_TESTS_PARALLEL ?= true
 SKIP_HCPVSAPPS_TESTS ?= true
diff --git a/test/integration/vaultdynamicsecret_integration_test.go b/test/integration/vaultdynamicsecret_integration_test.go
index 74873d69..44a80916 100644
--- a/test/integration/vaultdynamicsecret_integration_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/vaultdynamicsecret_integration_test.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"log"
 	"maps"
 	"os"
 	"path"
@@ -100,13 +101,18 @@ func TestVaultDynamicSecret(t *testing.T) {
 	// TODO: Extend this to support other dynamic create test cases
 	defaultCreate := 5 // Default count if no VDS_CREATE_COUNT is set
 	vdsCreateCount := getEnvInt("VDS_CREATE_COUNT", -1)
+
+	// Counts can't be <= 0, if they are, the default count will be used.
+	if vdsCreateCount <= 0 {
+		log.Printf("Invalid VDS_CREATE_COUNT: %d, using default count: %d", vdsCreateCount, defaultCreate)
+		vdsCreateCount = defaultCreate
+	}
+
 	createOnlyCount := getEnvInt("VDS_CREATE_ONLY", defaultCreate)
 	mixedCount := getEnvInt("VDS_MIXED_CREATE", defaultCreate)
 
-	if vdsCreateCount != -1 {
-		createOnlyCount = vdsCreateCount
-		mixedCount = vdsCreateCount
-	}
+	createOnlyCount = vdsCreateCount
+	mixedCount = vdsCreateCount
 
 	ctx := context.Background()
 	crdClient := getCRDClient(t)
diff --git a/test/integration/vaultpkisecret_integration_test.go b/test/integration/vaultpkisecret_integration_test.go
index a10a2040..e340bdd2 100644
--- a/test/integration/vaultpkisecret_integration_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/vaultpkisecret_integration_test.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"log"
 	"os"
 	"path"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -64,15 +65,20 @@ func TestVaultPKISecret(t *testing.T) {
 
 	defaultCreate := 5 // Default count if no VDS_CREATE_COUNT is set
 	vpsCreateCount := getEnvInt("VPS_CREATE_COUNT", -1)
+
+	// Ensure vpsCreateCount is valid
+	if vpsCreateCount <= 0 {
+		log.Printf("Invalid VPS_CREATE_COUNT: %d, using default count: %d", vpsCreateCount, defaultCreate)
+		vpsCreateCount = defaultCreate
+	}
+
 	createOnlyCount := getEnvInt("VPS_CREATE_ONLY", 1)
 	mixedCount := getEnvInt("VPS_MIXED_CREATE", defaultCreate)
 	createTLSCount := getEnvInt("VPS_MIXED_CREATE", 2)
 
-	if vpsCreateCount != -1 {
-		createOnlyCount = vpsCreateCount
-		mixedCount = vpsCreateCount
-		createTLSCount = vpsCreateCount
-	}
+	createOnlyCount = vpsCreateCount
+	mixedCount = vpsCreateCount
+	createTLSCount = vpsCreateCount
 
 	tempDir, err := os.MkdirTemp(os.TempDir(), t.Name())
 	require.Nil(t, err)
diff --git a/test/integration/vaultstaticsecret_integration_test.go b/test/integration/vaultstaticsecret_integration_test.go
index 5c794e07..fdde63b9 100644
--- a/test/integration/vaultstaticsecret_integration_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/vaultstaticsecret_integration_test.go
@@ -63,8 +63,16 @@ func TestVaultStaticSecret(t *testing.T) {
 	// If VSS_CREATE_COUNT is set, it will override the specific test counts.
 	// If VSS_CREATE_COUNT is not set, the specific test counts will be used.
 	// If no counts are set, the default count will be used.
+	// Counts can't be <= 0, if they are, the default count will be used.
 	defaultCreate := 2 // Default count if no VSS_CREATE_COUNT is set
 	vssCreateCount := getEnvInt("VSS_CREATE_COUNT", -1)
+
+	// Ensure vssCreateCount is valid
+	if vssCreateCount <= 0 {
+		log.Printf("Invalid VSS_CREATE_COUNT %d, using default count %d", vssCreateCount, defaultCreate)
+		vssCreateCount = defaultCreate
+	}
+
 	kvv1Count := getEnvInt("VSS_KVV1_CREATE", defaultCreate)
 	kvv2Count := getEnvInt("VSS_KVV2_CREATE", defaultCreate)
 	bothCount := getEnvInt("VSS_BOTH_CREATE", defaultCreate)
@@ -72,15 +80,12 @@ func TestVaultStaticSecret(t *testing.T) {
 	mixedBothCount := getEnvInt("VSS_MIXED_BOTH_CREATE", defaultCreate)
 	eventsBothCount := getEnvInt("VSS_EVENTS_BOTH_CREATE", defaultCreate)
 
-	// Apply VSS_CREATE_COUNT if it is set
-	if vssCreateCount != -1 {
-		kvv1Count = vssCreateCount
-		kvv2Count = vssCreateCount
-		bothCount = vssCreateCount
-		kvv2FixedCount = vssCreateCount
-		mixedBothCount = vssCreateCount
-		eventsBothCount = vssCreateCount
-	}
+	kvv1Count = vssCreateCount
+	kvv2Count = vssCreateCount
+	bothCount = vssCreateCount
+	kvv2FixedCount = vssCreateCount
+	mixedBothCount = vssCreateCount
+	eventsBothCount = vssCreateCount
 
 	// The events tests require Vault Enterprise >= 1.16.3, and since that
 	// changes the app policy required we need to set a flag in the test