When contemplating how to keep snakes away from your yard, you likely think of the same old “solutions”-fences, repellents, cleaning debris, etc. You may have even typed the phrase “do mothballs work?” into the Google search bar (spoiler alert: they don’t really work). However, we frequently overlook the biggest factor, which is landscaping. More specifically, plants.
Snakes are not out here sniffing your rose bushes like animals on a nectar binge. They are not attracted to plants themselves in the way you think. They are drawn to the habitat, or the niche that the plants are creating. They don’t care about your flowers; they want cooler spots to conceal themselves, thick cover, and a place for prey to hang out.
So if you’re segregating snakes (maybe not in the same way you segregate venison or pheasant)—or even trying to eliminate them—it might be a good time to reassess your plants/landscaping.
First, a quick reality check. Snakes do not get attracted to plants by scent or color. They are associating shade, moisture, a hiding place, and most importantly, food with the plants. If your yard, even by accident, has accomplished these features, it is like putting out a welcome mat that reads “vacancy” for snakes and other reptiles.
Dense Groundcovers (e.g., ivy, lantana, Asian jasmine)
These might be aesthetically pleasing overflow from your flowerbed, but groundcovers like English ivy, lantana, or creeping Asian jasmine are essentially “five-star hotels” for snakes and their prey. These plants grow low and thick, creating dense mats that are hard to look into and even harder to clean under.
Why snakes enjoy them:
They can provide a cool, shady, protected area to conceal themselves
Wet conditions underneath (especially if they are overwatered)
An abundance of food around—think frogs, insects, and even rodents
What to do instead:
You don’t have to get rid of groundcover altogether, but you could avoid the ones that act like, once they’re established, they grow like a green carpet. Instead of low groundcover, choose groundcovers that are clustering or sparse instead. Or if you are keeping the ones you have, regularly trim, rake underneath, and keep them from turning into a jungle.
Juniper Bushes & Overgrown Shrubs
While juniper may be a favorite in landscaping, they act as a fortress for snakes, including shy snakes such as many garters and rat snakes. When they are low enough to the ground, thick and needle-y, they provide a solid place for them to hide.
Why snakes enjoy them:
There’s thick vegetation to provide concealment from predators
They offer shade underneath, so they can be cool
Juniper mulch retains additional moisture on the ground, helping to keep the ground cool
What to do instead:
If you adore your junipers, just maintain them. Trim them up from the bottom so there is daylight underneath. Make sure there is room around the base. You want airflow, not snake refuge.
Pampas Grass & Tall Ornamental Grasses
Let’s face it: pampas grass is dramatic, beautiful, and has a wild, beachy look—but from a snake’s perspective, it’s the botanical version of “stay back—do not disturb.” This grass has always got a thick base and sharp blades; it’s impossible to see through. If something gets in it, it’s going to stay out of view, like a clam in its shell!!
Why snakes love this:
It is dense hiding and nesting cover
It also attracts their prey (mice, lizards…)
Once established, you will likely lose sight of it
What you can do differently:
If grasses are your jam, the best thing to do is check out shorter species or ones with a looser, airy structure. And for the love of ankles, maintain the dead stuff. Pampas grass gets wild fast if you neglect it—and snakes love neglect.
Bird- and berry-loving plants (e.g., mulberry trees, viburnum, holly bushes)
Here’s the thing: snakes do not eat berries. However, they eat birds and rodents or pretty much anything else that wants to get at the berries. If your yard is a wildlife buffet, snakes will show up to eat.
Why snakes love this:
Birds drop food, feathers, eggs
Rodents come and just take the fruit already fallen
Nesting birds are easy prey to climbing snakes (e.g., rat snakes)
What you can do differently:
Prune your fruiting shrubs and pick up the berries once they drop.
Do not plant these types of shrubs immediately adjacent to your house, porch, or shed.
And maybe don’t plant them alongside dense groundcover, unless you are actually trying to host a wildlife documentary in your backyard.
Bonus reminder: it’s not just the plant.
You could have the most snake-disavowing plant list on the planet. Still, if the conditions of your yard align, you are going to have some shelled visitors. When you get down to it, snakes do not really care about your landscaping—snakes care about surviving! If your yard has a cool, wet spot and a food source—they are coming. Whether you have plants or not is irrelevant.
Here is what will help, regardless of what you plant:
Keep grasses short and edges trimmed.
Keep wood stacks, brush piles, and yard debris clean & picked up.
Fix leaks in faucets or remove any standing water.
Seal crawl spaces, corners of garages, and gaps under garden sheds.
Stop feeding wildlife immediately beside your house.
Should you just rip out these plants?
Not necessarily! Lots of these—everything here—are pretty plants or have real functions (e.g., pollinators LOVE lantana, mulberries are a bonk for birds, and ornamental grasses are drought tolerant and very low maintenance).
The trick is don’t panic, just manage.
Annual or twice-a-year trim.
Do not allow things to get overgrown.
Pick up fallen berries, leaves, or debris.
And if you have started seeing snakes, or signs of them (i.e., shed skins, burrows, etc.), start by assessing the type of habitat you have created and maybe did not know you made.
Snakes are not bad. They are not evil. They are part of the ecosystem, and most of the snakes are harmless (and in all honesty—helpful, they eat rats!). Just because they do not mean harm does not mean you want them hanging out under your rosemary bush, or scaring loyal customers on your steps.
Identifying what plants/landscaping habits make your yard a more or less attractive destination is the first step to keeping it in check.
So, no—you do not have to live in fear of every blade of grass or dig up every single berry-producing shrub, but just know what is occurring just below the surface. Literally.
Because sometimes it’s not the plants—it’s the tiny wild world they can quietly create.
