Do marigolds actually help keep bugs away from your vegetables?

I've always planted marigolds as companion plants to my veggies because my parents always did. The theory is that they help keep bugs away from the veggies. Does this theory have any validity?

Do marigolds actually help keep bugs away from your vegetables?
I've always done this, too, and it seems to help. If nothing else, the marigolds look nice amoung the vegetable plants and it certainly doesn't hurt anything to have them there.





Unfortunately, in my experience anyway, the marigolds don't keep rabbits away. There was a recent discuss here about that. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=1...
Reply:never heard of them keeping bugs away, but have heard, and from what I understand it's true....they keep rabbits away so they dont chew up your other plants.
Reply:They do, but they have a major drawback. Marigolds are a favored breeding plant of red spider mites. If you plant them near your garden you run the risk of infecting the garden with red spider! I personally don't use them for that reason.
Reply:This bit of folk lore was finally tested on broccoli crops at some University. The rows without any marigolds had the highest yields.
Reply:I heard this too.I'll tell you though -I can't stand the smell of them.I think they keep animals away too.
Reply:Marigolds are relatively pest free and many people interplant them in their vegetable gardens to deter insect pests. While the data is lacking as to whether marigolds actually deter insect pests, they definitely attract beneficial insects such as lacewings, ladybeetles, and parasitic wasps. A vegetable garden with some planted flowers is also more attractive and this makes it more enjoyable to work in.





Recent research indicates that marigolds contain compounds toxic to root knot and other plant-parasitic nematodes (microscopic round worms that damage plant roots). Root knot nematodes are not native to our area, but can be brought in with infected plant materials. The research showed that marigolds, especially certain varieties of French marigolds, significantly reduced root knot nematode populations the following year. Varieties of French marigolds shown to have nematocidal properties are: Bolero, Bonita Mixed, Goldie, Gypsy Sunshine, Petite, Petite Harmony, Petite Gold, Scarlet Sophie, Single Gold, and Tangerine.
Reply:Yes
Reply:yes. it is something to do with the smell.
Reply:I have heard of it...Nasturtians are supposed to do the same thing. A lot of the Mennonite in our area agree with this.
Reply:Yes they have worked for all my friends and guess what? I kid you not, I put them out between the flower and vegetable beds and every year the bugs eat the marigold to the roots and my other flowers too. It is a complete puzzle to me.