So far, I've never had serious pest problems on my tomatoes aside from some caterpillars that got into the fruit (and rodents, but that's a different issue). Sure, there was some minor foliage damage, but certainly not enough to endanger or really slow down the plant. Not like a hornworm problem, which can rapidly defoliate. So if I see caterpillars, I spray around fruit with Bt or spinosad. If I saw a major infestation with something like aphids, mites, etc., I'd use neem or insecticidal soap or something, probably. But if I only see a few, I'll leave it up to the predatory bugs to keep them in check. Partly because I like to keep the flora in balance in the garden and not do anything unless things are already badly out of balance, but mostly because all that spraying is time intensive and can get expensive, and I already have enough to deal with spraying regularly to prevent fungal infections.
I plant a lot of flowering plants that are supposed to attract predatory bugs and intersperse through the yard. Seems to work OK so far, and if not, I can enjoy the pretty flowers and their fragrance!
I'm thinking of spraying the fruit with a capsaicin formulation like Hot Pepper Wax because we are overrun with squirrels and chipmunks this year, and I'm still worried that the voles might come back.
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