Yes, occasionally I have read that they repel white fly, ants and some other insects...but as far as the ants thing goes, the ants still love the dry world under my young pumpkin plants' canopy, they seem not to care about the marigolds. As to white fly, I have also planted some (not so many) Nicandra physalodes. They are supposed to attract white fly better than some other plants, and then they (ironically) turn out to be poisonous to the poor little flies, LOL. Anyway, I still find some white fly here and there. This year I will try to spray my plants (AG, Tomato, Kohlrabi...) with a tansy brew, at least fortnightly. It is supposed to repel many insects.