Will Marigolds Repel Bugs From My Herbs?

Bee Attractor

• Marigolds are brightly colored flowers with a strong scent. Plant them in your herb garden for the visual effect of a pretty plant. They attract bees and wasps, which pollinate herb and vegetable blossoms and control pests. Sometimes the scent of the flowers is strong enough to cover the smell of an attractive flower and deter a pest bug from bothering the blooming vegetable or herb plant.

Companion Plant

• Use marigolds as companion plants in your garden. Some bugs, like the asparagus beetle, tomato hornworm, Mexican been beetles and whiteflies, are reported to be repelled by the marigold. The tomato plant, among other vegetables, grows well with marigolds close by it.

Competitor

• Realize that when you plant marigolds in your garden, they are competing with any other plants for the water and nutrients in the soil. Allow plenty of space for your herbs and vegetables so that the marigolds do not crowd in on these resources. Make sure that when the marigolds go to seed you keep the seed heads picked to prevent marigold seedlings from growing all over your garden.

Nematode Repellant

• The toxic substance alpha-tertheinyl, found in French marigolds, repels some nematodes. Nematodes are single-section, often microscopic, worms that live in the soil and feed off the roots of plants. For a marigold plant to repel these nematodes, you need to plant the marigold in the garden at least two months before the introduction of herbs or vegetables. Protection occurs only as long as the marigold roots are present. Because there are hundreds of types of nematodes, a serious infestation would require testing to make sure they are repelled by and not attracted to the marigold.