Same thing happened to me two summers ago, greasy leaves and the aphids just laughed and moved to the tips. Every 7 days in that dry heat felt like I was just coating the plant in salad dressing. Those ladybugs are the move, mine cleared my serrano in about a week and a half and stuck around for a bit. Ngl I still keep a bottle under the sink but I only reach for it on cool evenings in early spring now, hot balcony season it does more harm than good. $9 saved is a couple more rounds of bugs.

He shrugged and said they all look like that" sounds like my ex

The "battery cable ends I skipped" part hit home for me. I did the same thing on my truck last year, told myself the terminals looked fine and moved on, then spent a whole Sunday chasing a crank-no-start before finally wiggling the cable and watching it fall apart in my hand. The worst part is knowing you could've fixed it in ten minutes for like eight bucks. A whole Saturday gone over a part that costs less than lunch stings in a special way. At least you know the rest of the system is solid now.