Growing Basil - pest control

Grow basil so that you can have a supply of the herbs for cooking is nice.

But as a beginner gardener, one of the problem is the plant (basil in this case) gets infested with what I understand are aphids, which is a bug that feasts on the leaves by sucking out the sap and leaving behind a sticky honeydew that encourages mildew growth.

It makes the leaves hard to clean and unappetising to eat.

I read from a post :

When it comes to battling aphids, dish soap is a powerful weapon. Mix a few tablespoons of liquid dish soap into a gallon of water. Spraying this on the basil leaves gets rid of aphids quickly. After a half hour or so, rinse the soap (and dead aphids) from the plant. Alternatively, use insecticidal soap or buy ladybugs to devour the aphids.

Not sure about the ladybug idea, doesnt ladybug also destroy plants?

How many of you have successfully rid of Aphids? Please comment

Another way is to plant things that repel insects

Plants that Repel Bugs
Chives
Marigolds
Catnip
Fennel
Cilantro

Neem oil also comes to mind... I'm not exactly sure how to proceed