Take the plants outside into shade. Get your hose and aim a strong jet of water at the leaves, top and bottom of the leaf surface. You may want to tip the plant onto it's side so that you are washing the bugs off, not down the stem into the potting medium. The goal is to remove as many as possible. Next, you will mix a spray bottle with the insecticide of your choice. Some good, safer options for edibles include Neem Oil or insecticidal soap. Read the labels twice on whatever you choose. Spray the plants thoroughly, top and bottom of leaves, stem, and you can even lightly spray the soil surface. Leave the plants outside, in the shade, until they dry out a little, then you can bring them back inside.

A note: you will have to repeat the spray treatment every few days in order to fully interrupt the aphid life cycle. Once isn't going to do it. And you must treat all affected plants in the room or you will end up leaving the aphids a "home base" from which they can recolonize. Your goal is to manage the aphids such that their numbers are surpressed enough that the plants can grow and be healthy. It is difficult to eliminate them entirely in an indoor environment.

In another forum, Marsha explained to me that she sees these insects on the soil and that they fly. Thus, I don't think that the problem is aphids at all, but would like to see pictures before I make a recommendation.

sorry i forgot to remove this post when i copied it to the herb forum. I'm pretty sure i have both gnats and aphids, but almost all of my plants have died, so i'm just going to get something from Home Depot to protect the rest. thanks for all your help!