Hi kenv, glad to meet a fellow-sufferer.
I have a book on my bookshelf called "The Lazy Man´s Guide to Enlightenment."
It´s been there a couple of years.
Must get round to reading it ...
As for pests, my first line of defence is a daily glance beneath the lower leaves, as many bugs attack from the soil.
Use of a small mirror is permitted for the less bendy, or the terminally work-shy, (like me).
In extremis, I have sprayed with (environmentally friendly) washing up liquid, as detergent forms a film on insects and suffocates them.
Some wildlife on the plants are not problematic, spiders eat aphids, though they leave nests with thousands of tiny spiders, either in webs, or little round red pods attached to stems. They don´t smoke too well ...
I see tiny crickets on my plants here in Spain, which I welcome, since they must be eating something, and it´s not the plant.
Caterpillars are removed, (gently) though they only eat the leaves, which are plentiful, (and I like butterflies).
It seems to be when the plants begin to mature that the risk increases, but a daily inspection will bring rewards.
Time to climb into the hammock for my daily "Spanish Yoga."