Many homeowners want a lush, green garden filled with a variety of plants. However, some plants attract snakes to yards or gardens. Snakes enter the lawn because forests are shrinking; they search for safe shelter, food, and water to survive. In search of all these, snakes may land on your property, especially when they smell the scent of their favorite plants. This blog primarily highlights the plants that attract snakes.
List of Plants That Attract Snakes
There are certain plants to which snakes get attracted. As a homeowners cum gardener, it’s important to know about such plants to keep snakes away from the garden. Here is the list:
1. Banana Trees
Banana trees provide food and shelter for snakes, bringing them close to the trees. The leaves are large, soft, and feel like a cushion to snakes, providing them with perfect shelter. Snakes also get food because frogs and rats are attracted to banana trees, which the snakes prey on.
2. Cedar
Cedar, a member of the pine family, is a tall tree with high ornamental value. Snakes are attracted to the fragrant scent emitted by the trees, and they also get shade and moisture from the vines growing on the cedars. Additionally, rats hide under the vine's shade, making them easy prey for snakes.
3. Tall Grassy Plants
Snakes look for safe hiding places to avoid predators like hawks and owls. The best grasses for hiding from predators and extreme weather are buffalo grasses and cattails.
4. Groundcovers
Ground covers like English ivy, periwinkle, clover, creeping grevillea, and native violet provide a dense, safe cover for snakes to hide. Though groundcovers are not as tall as long grasses, it provides enough coverage for snakes to hide. Also, many small mammals, reptiles, and insects hide in these groundcovers and fall prey to snakes.
5. Some Species of Vines and Creepers
Vines and creepers like ivy and wisteria provide snakes with an excellent hiding space from predators and also help tree snakes hunt for prey. The low-hanging branches of wisteria provide snakes with easy access to different parts of the yard or garden.
6. Milkweed
These flowering perennials are known to attract plant-killing beetles, but other creatures, like snakes and birds, are also attracted to the milkweed flowers. This is because snakes and other creatures get to eat insects, bugs, and grasshoppers that inhabit the plant. Grass snakes climb the branches of milkweed to catch their prey.
7. Cypress
Cypress trees have dense foliage that provides a perfect nesting site for birds, and snakes are attracted to them to hunt for prey. It’s like a chain where one creature falls prey to another creature.
8. Versatile Hosta
It’s a perennial plant known as “giboshi” in Japan and best suited to cool, moist, and wooded environments. However, it can survive for a few months at a stretch at temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The leaves of Hosta provide a safe hiding place for snakes.
9. Scented Plants
Some scented bushy plants, like jasmine and sandalwood, provide cozy homes for snakes thanks to their thick foliage. The stems and branches of sandalwood provide snakes with coolness in hot weather.
10. Rubber Tree
It's a popular houseplant from the fig tree family and can be grown as an indoor potted plant. Snakes easily climb the rubber plant to hunt for birds and their eggs, and hide among the plant's waxy pink leaves.
11. Shade Offering Plants
Snakes, despite being cold-blooded reptiles, need a cool place to live. Shade-providing trees offer snakes a safe, comfortable place to hide. Even ferns with big leaves offer shade to snakes.
List of Snake-Repelling Plants to Keep Them Away From the Yard
Here is the list of the plants that can repel snakes from your garden or yard. Therefore, if you want to keep them away from the yard, plant any of the following plants:
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Holly- Snakes look for smooth surfaces to trail along the ground, so they dislike the strong smell and spiky leaves of holly plants and don’t prefer to invade such areas.
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Lavender- The best way to keep snakes at bay is to plant lavender along the walkways, entry points, and garden because snakes hate the smell of lavender and don’t enter the area.
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Marigold- It is well known for its pungent roots and strong-smelling flowers that many pests dislike, including snakes, and they don’t burrow or nest in the surrounding area.
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Lemongrass- The strong smell of lemongrass affects the ability of snakes to hunt, so they don’t crawl in the area where lemongrass is grown.
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Onion and Garlic- The strong and pungent smell of onion and garlic acts as a natural barrier that keeps snakes away from the yard because they are sensitive to strong smells.
Conclusion
There are many plants that attract snakes to your yard and garden. Therefore, opt not to plant these species to keep snakes away from your lawn. The other option is to plant snake-repelling plants to deter snakes.
