"There are little bitty black bugs all over my cilantro. The internet says yellow sticky cards and potatoes are the way to go. Possibly tomato juice and neem oil. Any other suggestions? This is war!"

I asked her if there was any sort of cobby web stuff, size/shape of the bugs, and if it looked like they were eating it.

She said, "No cob webs. tiny tiny bugs, so tiny that my camera is useless. They kind of look like tiny footballs with a fat behind. And they have hind legs like a cricket, I believe. I do believe they may be eating it. It was not visible this morning but I can see it now. They don't move when I touch or move the plant. Upon much closer examination they do seem to be green (someone suggested maybe aphids) so I've sprayed with soapy water. Currently they are all sitting there still and the sheer number of them makes me not want to touch the plant (my mind flashes to the scarab things in The Mummy); however, I did and nothing happened. I even squished a few. Hopefully they are dead. If indeed these are aphids, I've been told I can just wash them off the plant now. Do I need to change the soil and re-pot? Where would the aphids have come from. i'm on the upper floor of an apartment building in downtown birmingham, it's not like they got it from nearby plants. (None of my other herbs have them, should I be worried about them) I've googled this and found every answer in the book, so an opinion from someone who's dealt with the climate in the region is much appreciate. :D )

Oh, and I think I can see the mold type residue that they supposedly leave....."

They don't chew plants, but suck large volumes of sap from the vascular system.