Didn't try, but could work

I had some very good experience with lady bugs against aphids. So I was looking for something like that and found a "caterpillar fly" (direct translation, not sure if this is correct. Scientific name: Trichopoda pictipennis)

Maybe I could set them out in my balcony garden. But as it's not a real garden, but only a few larger flower boxes, I'm afraid they won't make it long with an active infestation.

But I also haven't found a shop for them yet and don't know, if they can be applied like lady bugs.
Can't stress enough how well that worked against aphids - and I really like them :⁠-⁠)
With a little "bug hotel" they also came back and tried to settle. But sadly our apartment block had the balconies renovated and I needed to move the hotel and now need to start fresh...

Thanks!
Checked them already after skull givers answer, but haven't found anything - maybe they already all hatched now...

This season is already fucked and gone. So I'm currently looking into ways to prevent this next year.

I've read that spraying peppermint helps to keep them away. But we got a bit really wanted mint plant this year, which sits just 25-50cm away from the tomatoes.
Either it's a different mint and only peppermint works, or the plant alone just isn't enough...

Correctly it would be 'Holz' and not 'Holtz'
The latter I've heard as a family name sometimes. But you're probably right, that it historically referenced 'Holz'

Edit: only found a German page about the origins of the name, and yes, it is very probably coming from forest, woodland, wood

https://namensherkunft.info/namensherkunft-holtz/

Ah, I think you're right!
We are having an infestation this year of those fuckers, but I've only seen the adult ones until now.

Thank you very much!
Those have become a pest here.

If someone knows how to keep them away, it would be very much appreciated.

Edit: the only thing I've found was manual removing them or spraying them with vinegar and soap water. I've now freed my 3 poor plants of them manually (into a bag with vinegar, soap and hot water)
At least now I know, why all our tomatoes this year started to rot with some mold infection

Yeah, I'm trying.

But I'm fighting for the life of my cat and I'm cooking food for him every 2 hours - since 2 months.

Me and and my wife are already completely devastated, because we also need to somehow work...

So getting some real sleep wasn't an option for quite some time.

At the moment he is doing better, and I'm trying to get the portions a bit bigger and the times between feeding larger. But it will probably be a process.

And as this has taken an enormous emotional toll on us, I've stepped up my liquor intake. Which doesn't help with good sleep as well.

At least he is currently fine...
That was what we were aiming for. And how I am didn't matter much - until now I got some some more serious problems as well, because of not sleeping and all the stress.

Sorry for just venting... I'm just finished...

I think down voting is some style of caring about something?

And I do care. If I'm wrong, I want to correct it

Ah, fuck yeah I missed the period...

Well, my only excuse is that I didn't got much sleep in the last... 2 months

Edit: after that fuck up being be so sleep deprived, I'm not confident enough to point out my mistake anymore

*he's
I know, pedantic, but I don't understand, how someone can think, that this is grammatically correct.
I just don't get, how someone can confuse "his" and "he's"

(OK, need to proof read my sentence now to not fuck myself ;-))

Sorry, I'm misread. Even down voted myself now

Edit: and seems my formatting skills aren't working out as well.

Edit 2: ok, looks better now.
Yeah, was wrong and misread the sentence. My fault

We found our cat young and starving, being left alone outside.
But he was used to be outside and just locking him in would be cruel.
He mostly happily hides in a hole or some cellar around, when he is outside anyway.

We tried giving him a safety collar, but he was already like 6 months old, when we found him and wasn't used to one. So he always got rid of the safety ones and we were too afraid that he should strangulate himself with a non-safety one.
He is chipped. So I hope this is enough, when someone catches him.
But he is very shy with other people and it worked out for 13 years now I'm different areas of the city - sometimes, in his young and wild years, he was gone for 2-3 days, but he always came back happy and hungry :-)

Yeah, that's exactly what I mean.

Just replace the family with loneliness and the meal with some substance, that makes you feel less shit, and you have the same thing

Just like an alcoholic has the problem, that he can't just stop after a beer or two.
It's the same mechanism.

Everything you use to cope with emotions can produce that.
Like nicotine itself isn't hard to quit - not much of a physical addiction. But as one used cigarettes as little self rewards and uncomfortable situations, you can't just give up your tool to manage your emotions.

The only way out is to face those emotions and solve the original issue. Else you'll just be hopping through different "helpers"

Edit: maybe to give an even more extreme example:
Cocaine doesn't produce any physical addiction, but because it gives you the feeling of being awake and you suddenly can handle the stress, you'll fell completely lost and alone without it in those situations.
That's why trigger situations are a thing.

With food, just like cigarettes, it's even worse, because you use them for good and bad times.
So the association with feeling good is much harder to break.
As we need food, this addiction is probably even worse, because you can't just stop eating all together and face your emotions. So you're daily tempted with it.
I personally can't relate with overeating/"food addiction", but having spent a month tapering opiate teas (which I used to still be able to work during my burnout), I understand the feeling of constantly looking for an excuse to still do a bit more - just today...
Because this day was especially bad and I desperately need the crutch, or especially nice and I feel like I wanna celebrate it somehow.

Stell ich mir auch für die Kinder ungut vor, spätestens wenn sie in die Pubertät kommen und mehr Privatsphäre wollen

Sometimes I work on a larger project that is split up in different sub projects, that were sold separately and are maybe paid by different departments. So I need to at least spilt those up.
Also it's often easier to follow what exactly was done, when I differentiate more between my tasks and not just put a collective line there - just like small commits are more helpful than one large one.

But maybe I understood you wrong...?

Not too much difference to now
With all the poisonous gas flowing out of him

Not with this kind of staff he pulls with him

As we're currently fighting for the life of our cat, who always loved to eat grass for years, be aware that eating grass/plants is often a sign of illness - because that want to puke something out or aren't feeling well.

Because I didn't reacted early enough, I've maybe fucked up. So please keep an eye on that and maybe check for an (bacterial) infection of the stomach

Especially in all forms of stupidity

Because you can't easily borrow it your friend or bring it with you to a game night?

Yeah, with the same towel you finished your ass last time

But generally, I agree

Ah, thank you for the explanation!