How Marigolds Can Keep Your Garden Pest Free, Straight From a Pro

Marigolds (Tagetes) are a favorite amongst gardeners for a stunning garden visual and ease in being one of the best companion plants for vegetables and herbs. Their blooms that come in an array of warm shades (orange, red, yellow, and gold are just to name a few) add exceptional aesthetics to your lawn, but they’re also a fan-favorite for their bug-repelling capabilities.

“You may have heard some individuals claim that planting marigolds in your garden can help prevent bug infestations in your beloved garden plants. But is this true?” says Lotte Berendsen, certified botanist and plant expert at My Plantin. “While science may not fully support the idea that Marigolds repel pests, there is strong evidence that they can effectively control and reduce the population of nematodes.”

If you’re a gardening aficionado, especially when it comes to growing your own vegetables, then you know that you’re not the only one who enjoys the food you grow. Bugs do, too. So, we’re letting you in on a little gardening hack that seems to do the trick at keeping the pests away from your developing crops. All you need is the help of a few beautiful flowers.

What Pests do Marigolds Keep Away?

One of the amazing benefits of planting marigolds within your garden is that there’s an array of pests that will be deterred from the area. According to Berendsen, nematodes, aphids, caterpillars, slugs, hornworms, and whiteflies are a few that these flowers repel along with mosquitos. Other than insects and bugs, marigolds have the power to also repel pests like deer and rabbits.

“Marigolds may help control these bugs because they emit a strong, pungent smell that many bugs don’t enjoy,” Berendsen explains. “The roots of Marigolds release a chemical called alpha-terthienyl, which is highly toxic to nematodes, providing a reliable and natural solution to this common garden problem.”

While varieties of marigolds have a double-edged sword from the pungent smell, you have to be strategic about when you plant this bug-repellent so it works properly with your companion plants.

“If you want to keep Marigolds in your garden for pest control, we recommend planting them around the perimeter of your garden beds, simply ‘scattering’ them around your plants, or in between rows of crops,” suggests Berendsen.

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How to Use Marigolds to Keep Bugs Away from Your Garden

Other than placing them in your garden to keep the bugs and animals away from your crops, Berendsen says you can also place marigolds on a windowsill in your home to keep the flies away.

Regardless of where you want to plant them, you need to know the steps to do so properly. Here’s how to use marigolds to keep bugs away from your garden and other plants:

1. Pick Your Variety: French marigolds are the variety to select when using these plants for pest control. This variety contains the strongest smell and toxic chemicals you need to repel insects and animals.
2. Grow Indoors: You can buy pre-grown marigolds to start planting or grow them from seed since this is easy and cheaper to do. The best time to start growing marigolds indoors from seed is during the late winter or early spring about two months out from the last expected frost.
3. Plant Proactively: Placement matters when using marigolds as a companion plant in your garden. Scatter them around the other plants in your garden to keep your crops pest-free.

On top of these tips, Berendsen has an extremely important tip for using these plants as a bug repellent.

“If you want to use Marigolds to control nematodes in your garden, please note that the roots only release the toxic compound after the plant has been in the soil for about a year! So, make sure to plant these blooms in a timely manner!”