💬 My balcony tomatoes are being eaten by something I can't see. Help?

In June I put 4 pots on our balcony. 2 tomato plants, 1 mint, 1 chilli that my neighbour gave me. First month went better than I deserved. Tomatoes shot up, the mint went everywhere, even into the chilli pot. My kids started checking them every morning before school. I felt like a proper farmer. Then about 3 weeks ago the tomato leaves started getting holes. Small ones, then bigger ones. I can't see what's doing it. I've stood there with a torch at night like an idiot. Nothing. There are some tiny white flies when I shake the plant, and black dots on a few leaves. That's all I've found. My mother says sprinkle turmeric. My neighbour says chilli water. The guy at the nursery said buy this spray. The spray was 450 rupees and did nothing except make the balcony smell for 2 days. The mint is fine, by the way. Nothing touches the mint. The chilli is fine too. It's only the tomatoes, and there are 6 small green ones on there now that I really don't want to lose. My son has named the biggest one. If it dies I'll have to explain that at breakfast. We're on the 4th floor in Shaikpet, west facing, so it gets a lot of afternoon sun if that matters. So, people who grow things on balconies. What do you use for pests that doesn't cost a fortune? Home stuff is better, I've got kids touching these plants every day and I don't want poison on them. And is it too late to save them, or should I just let these go and start again in winter? I'll post a photo if anyone wants to see the holes.

Holes in the leaves with tiny white flies usually mean something is feeding at night or very early. Try checking with a torch at 5 in the morning instead of late at night. Last year I found fat green caterpillars hiding under my tomato leaves at that hour, and I picked them off by hand. The mint spreading into the chilli pot made me laugh. Mine did that too.

Neem oil mixed with a bit of water and a drop of dish soap worked far better for us than the plain soap spray, spray it in the evening so it doesn't burn the leaves in direct sun.