you have the new mexican deer? you know, the ones who like spicy food?

hmm...

I am baffled. not many things will eat marigolds!

Usually, when someone mentions nematodes and deer not liking marigolds, they mean the smaller, simpler French marigolds, not the large showy ones.

The large ones are third choice though... roses and pansies are first and second!

Get some wire fencing, like welded 2x4 fencing, and lay it down around the area you want kept free of deer. It only has to be 3 ft wide or so. When the deer step on it, they sense a foot trap and won't continue. Laid flat, they don't know where it ends, so they don't jump it. This is the same priciple as those cattle guards in roads, foot traps. Ruminants can't see their feet, so they can't really investigate what it is.

I surrounded my vegetable garden like this. The deer admired and drooled over my lettuce, peas and corn, but never got any of it. Funny to watch.

Sue

We must be in the same neighborhood. Our deer have eaten ALL BUT ONE of my marigolds, and I planted almost a hundred of them this year. In past years they would only pull up one or two by the roots, and spit the whole plant out to lay there dying. Freakin' deer eat EVERYTHING. And what they don't eat today, they trample on and break.
BlueBars

bluebars... I've found that not only is venison a health-conscious alternative to expensive, hormone-laden beef...

but the smell of one of their numbers being barbequed really makes them lose their appetite.

we were kind of lucky- nothing grows but mayapples and moss at my folk's house, so the deer stay to the back of the property- but they had a herd who figured out that hunters aren't welcome on our property, so they were starting to get kind of pushy- like raiding the bird feeder kind of bold.

a friend came by, dropped ONE buck at the base of the hill (sitting in my dad's chaise lounger on our back patio) and three generations later, they STILL stay on 'their' side of the hill.

now, we have the 'reintroduced' wild turkeys raiding the birdfeeder- but that's a whole nother story

I moved to the desert area around Boise, Idaho 13 years ago and finally quit planting marigolds because of ants and (probably) some other creatures eating them almost as quickly as I was able to plant them. I had never had trouble with marigolds until then. My daughter said to use Preen. Still there was something eating them. I gave up.
Any ideas?

I'm not sure what your slug population is in Boise, but they LOVE marigolds...and can even leave the plants looking sheared of new growth and flowers if not controlled.

Preen is a seed germination inhibitor used to reduce weed populations, not an insect/pest deterrent.

We never had a problem with marigolds and used them to keep some critters out of our gardens. However, this year I discovered snails were eating my marigolds like they were fried chicken. Nothing left but some strands of stalk. I think we imported them in bags of soil I bought at Home Depot this year. They Are new in town. I think this because I used it to fill some pots in my garage work room which is free from outside contamination, and That was when I discovered snails for the first time on the plants in there. I also found out the best way to get rid of them,plus easiest was to spray ammonia mixed with water on them at night when they are active. They dropped like flies from the plants and eventually disappeared. If it ain't one thing it's another. Now I'm watching five bucks that are working their way closer to my apple trees each night. Isn't nature fun!

Rose chafers IME really enjoy marigolds.

I have found a sure fire cure for the little guys who like to eat as well as transplant my garden. RED PEPPER, I buy it by the carton and sprinkle around and sometimes lightly on my plants. Boy nothing likes this and they seem to remember it. I have a squirrel who will run 20 around my area. The squirrel is still fat just not nearly so pesky.

I have an urban garden and one year I planted a border of marigolds, and every single one was munched down to the dirt by something. Nothing else was touched, which suprised me given the smorgasbord on offer. We did have a skunk in the neighborhood, and while I never determined if it was he that was the culprit, I always thought that there had to be a correllation between the stinky flowers in and the skunky odor out. ha ha I've just planted some marigold seeds for my neighbor's toddler to abuse (I figure they're hearty enough that a toddler can pick them and even step on them and they'll be more or less ok- and they will distract from my other flowers that are less hearty) so I'll let you know what happens.

Though I would not suggest you get a dog just to keep deer out of the garden, a dog and a fence work. Since I got my Rottweiler Shepherd mix the deer just bother the neighbors yards. We have a doggie door so she can come in and out in the early hours when the deer are foraging and she loves chasing deer, bunnies etc. Of course she also loves digging ...but no method is fool proof!

Transplanted a dozen marigolds into the front garden yesterday and this morning the plant closest to the house has been eaten! Three stems and one lone flower left. I couldn't believe it either. I hope I'm not going to lose one per night. Does anyone have information about what/who the culprit is or how to protect the plants?

My Marigolds have been eaten, too, and they are planted right next to the garlic and onion bed! I didn't think anything would go for all that stinky stuff! What can I do? Now that the Marigolds are eaten, something is going after my chard and beet tops. HELP!!!!

I know hunters who swear by rosemary & marigolds.

• Its wild turkeys here in northern New England. i noticed it in the past years and especially at the cemetary and caught them. This year they have moved to my garden
• and not the same turkeys of course.
• sugest you plant them in hanging pots as thats been a help .