What plants keep snakes away, there are many natural remedies if you live in an area populated by these nasty reptiles. Snakes love secluded and wet places with a lot of ground, leaf, or rock cover and can easily be found in residences with such characteristics.
But all is not lost, as plenty of plants will naturally keep these pesky reptilians away. Keep on reading and find out all about them
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List of Plants That Keep Snakes Away
1. Snake Plant
This one goes under many names, the most popular being snake plant, sansevieria, or mother-in-law’s tongue of the Dracaena genus. Snakes will generally hate this one because of its threatening looks, sharp sword-like leaf edges, and because it pumps oxygen in the air at a high rate.
– Characteristics
Sure, snakes are an important part of our ecosystems, but many of their species are harmful and even deadly to us humans. This plant won’t only keep the snakes away, but will look beautiful too!
These are the ones you would want to keep away from your house, children, and pets, and with the poisonous sap of the snake plant, it will be a natural snake-repellent plant near your active areas in the garden and your entryways for the best protection.
– Features
This very low-maintenance plant is an erect evergreen perennial native to West Africa. It has fleshy sharp pointed green leaves, with horizontal gray and green stripes and yellow edges.
From thick rhizomes, beautiful rosettes of leaves climb in the air. In some climates, you can see them flowering with small fragrant green flowers which bloom in spring.
The flowers are often then replaced with orange berries. Mother-in-law’s tongue can survive in a variety of conditions and tolerates almost any kind of weather you expose it to, and it has a low-maintenance characteristic.
– Growing Conditions
These repelling plants grow up to four feet tall and two feet wide, so you can plant them in bigger groups to create a fence-like border for snakes.
The snake plant will thrive at its peak potential in full sun and well-drained soils, which should include some coco peat or bark particles.
Generally, this plant is one that will tolerate many different soils outside and should be watered regularly during the growing season. Snake plants, in general, are winter hardy in climates from 10 to 12 but will enjoy outside summer time any climate.
2. West Indian Lemongrass
If you’re looking to repel snakes naturally, this is the one! Lemongrass produces a nice citrusy smell that naturally deters snakes and insects. Its essential oil, citronella is something the snakes hate.
– Characteristics
Use it to form a natural and secure fence to ward off snakes, mosquitoes, and other pesky things from your garden. These leaves exude a brilliantly powerful lemon fragrance that will deter snakes like nothing.
– Features
Citratus Cymbopogon is a tropical, evergreen grass with a beautiful aromatic lemon smell. It’s widely used in the cuisines of Thailand, the Philippines ad other Southeast Asia countries, due to the healing properties that traditional medicine clamis that they have.
The west Indian lemongrass features narrow light green leaves which arch gracefully and are up to three feet long. Clumps of pinkish and brown flowers appear in late summer but are seldom seen in colder climates.
The leaves of this natural snake deterrent have been used for years in medicine, digestive ailments, and arthritis. On the other hand, the oils are also used in the perfumery and production of soaps. These plants repel snakes and are widely used for soil improvement and control of erosion.
– Growing Conditions
The west Indian lemongrass often grows as high as four feet tall and up to three feet wide. It performs best in full sun, medium moist, and well-drained soils.
The grass plant would thrive when it is placed in organically rich loam as soil and definitely would enjoy warm growing conditions, with high humidity. If you live in colder areas, it will be best grown as a container plant. They are generally pest and disease free and are winter-hardy in climate zones 10 and 11.
3. Society Garlic
This is a larger version of an already famous garlic plant and is an excellent snake, mosquito, and insect repellent. Society garlic is edible and effective in cough treatment, cold treatment, and even sinusitis.
– Characteristics
Snakes often appear in warmer regions, and this plant is perfect for keeping snakes naturally away in such conditions. Both the leaves and the clove rhizome have a strong garlic smell and taste.
– Features
Society garlic or pink agapanthus is a southern African native. It is a tender perennial plant with sweet lilac and pink flowers elegantly growing upon the foliage of narrow gray and green leaves in summer.
The beautiful flowers are tubular, less than an inch long and wide. They spread into an open star shape when mature. The blooming continues well into early fall with the lovely fragrance of hyacinths.
– Growing Conditions
Pink agapanthus grows up to 20 inches high and a width of 12 inches. It’s a clump-forming perennial that will spread by rhizomes, but rarely become aggressive in doing so. Society garlic is easily grown in fertile, light, well-drained soil and full sun.
The plant has great heat and drought tolerance but will require regular watering throughout the growing season.
It can grow in shade, but won’t be blooming as much. This plant is winter hardy in climate zones in the range of seven to 10, so you will need to give it some protection if you grow it in colder areas.
Society garlic looks awesome in sunny flower borders, beds, rock and cottage gardens, and urban and herb gardens.
It is a popular container plant too, which you can grow on your sunny balcony and move inside for the winter. This one can often be seen in Mediterranean gardens, where it’s grown in large groups and creates the most beautiful effect.
4. Skunk Cabbage
These repelling plants are highly effective snake repellent. Not only will the reptiles stay away from it because of its pungent smell, but because it is highly toxic to almost all animals. If eaten, this plant causes burning and throat swell.
– Features
Skunk cabbage is a rhizomatous aquatic perennial bearing beautiful fragrant blossoms and with flashy yellow spadix surrounded by a white spathe.
The flowers are blooming in spring and appear even before foliage extending around 12 inches tall, and they would repel the snakes away standing tall and spreading their aroma.
Huge paddle-like shiny green leaves grow up to three feet long and begin to unfurl as blooms fade. Lysichtion Camtschatcensis is very easily grown near bodies of water, bogs, and water gardens where it produces high quantities of beautiful blossoms. Ideal for water-loving snakes.
– Growing Conditions
You can grow this beautiful plant in full sun or partial shade and rich fertile loam soil. It will love seasonal flooding and an area that’s receiving a high amount of rain.
After the foliage dies back in the autumn, you can remove dead leaves from the surrounding water. These are easily propagated by seed in spring or summer. This cabbage will enjoy climate zones between five and nine, as this is where it thrives.
The water-loving characteristics of this plant make it an ideal candidate for pond margins, bogs, water gardens, and similar. You can plant it near your watery border to make sure the snakes don’t cross over to your garden.
5. Clove Basil
This is an extremely fragrant and tall variety of basil that will add particular interest to any garden, but will be highly effective in deterring snakes too. It is a renowned plant with known health benefits and is rich in zinc, iron, calcium, and many vitamins.
– Characteristics
Clove basil produces a strong odor that snakes simply don’t like. The plant would be spreading these chemicals into the air and the snakes would hate it, hence they will repel away from it. This plant is one of the best ones that you can start to plant, so that no snakes would come towards your house or your garden.
– Features
Clove basil is highly regarded as one of the spiciest of its family. It is one of the perennial herb that often grown as an annual one, having narrow, dark green leaves bearing red and purple veins.
In summer, it grows spikes of tiny tubular pinkish flowers which contrast the luscious green foliage and purple stems. While other basil plants are grown for the leaves, this one will bring quite an ornamental value to your garden.
– Growing Conditions
This natural snake repellent will grow around 30 inches tall and 24 inches wide. It will perform in fertile, well-drained soil and full sun. You can water heavily in summer, without the fear of suffocating the roots.
As far as diseases and pests go, basil will be prone to quite a few — watch out for leafhoppers, aphids, slugs, and powdery mildews when you are growing them in your garden. Being a very frost-sensitive plant you should provide adequate protection in winter months. This basil plant is winter hardy in zones nine through 11.
Clove basil’s ornamental value makes it ideal for flower beds and bushy borders. But don’t be afraid to consume it too. You can pick out flower heads to promote bushy growth and extend the productive life of this plant.
Harvest mature leaves at any time. If you’d like to dry the leaves for spice, hang them out in direct light and store them in an airtight container, and this is one of the features that it is known for.
6. Green Chiretta
The green chiretta is also known as the king of bitters. It has bitter roots that emanate a strong smell.
– Characteristics
These plants repel snakes so much that they cause them to swell. These reptiles avoid the green chiretta plant at all costs, making this one a perfect natural snake repellent. The best remedy is to change the soil as quickly as possible and keep these amazing snake-repellent plants alive and kicking, as this characteristic is a known one.
– Features
Andrographis Paniculata is a delicate tropical plant, but the snakes hate it. Its spindly stems produce beautiful tiny flowers looking like small orchids.
The plant has strong medical and therapeutic properties and has become popular during the Covid pandemic. It’s used in traditional medicine to help the treatment of standard diseases like flu, cold, fever, and respiratory infections. This plant is great to have in the garden, as its active compound andrographolide is today mostly sold in pills.
– Growing Conditions
This plant has great cold and frost resistance properties, but should not be planted outside except if you live in a warmer climate of nine to 11.
The plant will enjoy full sun and copious amounts of water, but you should never allow it to drown in water, so try to pot it in porous soil. Choosing fine soil like perlite or sand will prove most useful for productive growth.
This plant doesn’t need any fertilizer, however, it is keen that you would try to repot it every few years to ensure root health. It will often be attacked by aphids and other small insects, but will generally be disease free.
7. Indian Snakeroot
Indian snakeroot will grow up to five feet tall and even four feet wide and will spread easily by rhizomes. It’s highly adaptive and will serve as a great accent plant, in mixed flower borders, cottage gardens, woodland, and wild naturalized areas.
– Characteristics
One of the most effective snake repellents is surely the Indian snakeroot plant. It is a plant that will both keep them away but can serve as a remedy to snake bites as well. Often called the devil pepper, it is used in India to keep away these nasty reptiles. This one is very useful to have in the garden, not just to repel snakes.
– Features
Indian snakeroot is clumpy, vigorously spreading perennial with flat clusters of small flowers, that emerge during summer and fall.
The long-lasting blossoms are growing atop strong branching stems and are highly attractive to butterflies and moths in search of nectar juice.
Nettle-like leaves grow up to six inches long and are paired beautifully along the stems. This plant provides a great garden presence and flowers that extend beyond the usual time for them. You can use it in an informal garden setting or allow it to spread in your woodland-type grove.
– Growing Conditions
It will show gratitude by self-seeding if you plant it in its ideal conditions. This plant performs best in partial shade, humus-rich, and moist soils. It has no serious insect or disease problems and will be winter hardy in climate zones six to 10.
8. Common Garlic
Much like the pink garlic, regular garlic or allium sativum is going to be a great snake-repellent plant to have around your yard!
– Charcateristcis
It has been proven that garlic is a natural repellent snakes from your living area: Simply you can start by growing the garlic plants together with onions too, and they will start to grow in a fast manner.
When they are growing they would release a natural aromatic chemical which is the one responsible to repel pests away but most importantly reptiles like snakes. As you grow them in your garden grounds and or entrance ways, you’ll have no snake problems at all!
– Features
Garlic has been cultivated for more than a few millennia by humans. It is a perennial vegetable grown as an annual herb, native to a Mediterranean climate, but is well-known and respected throughout the World!
Garlic is a relative of onions, leeks, and chives. It produces aromatic and flavourful cloves which typically consist of up to 20 bulblets enclosed in a white parchment skin. In late spring shots sprout out of the ground — they too are tender and delicious when young and add a nice flavor to soups and salads.
Garlic has been used not only in cooking but in medicine too. It is known to treat several conditions including blood system and heart burns, atherosclerosis, cholesterol, heart attacks, and hypertension.
– Growing Conditions of Garlic
Allium Sativum grows up to 18 inches tall and its width would become 12 inches wide. It will perform best in full sun, medium moist, but organically rich soil. It will need some extra water in the summertime when the bulbs are forming.
You should water it deeply when the soil shows dry. Garlic has no serious pest or disease-related issues and is winter hardy in climate zones of four to nine.
9. Marigolds
These flowers are highly effective at repelling snakes, that would open up in the mornings and close in the evenings.
– Characteristics
Their vigorous root system and ability to release a substance called alpha-terthienyl make them highly toxic to any reptile.
They also emit a strong fragrance, deterring snakes even when they’re hiding underground, or when they come off the soil as well. You can plant it in a rocky area when you know there are snakes around.
– Features
Also known as the African daisy, this is an upright annual bearing remarkably large orange and yellow blooms. The flowers are up to three inches wide and grow on top of reddish stems. They will bloom from spring to winter, depending on where you live.
Often visited by bees and butterflies, they will close at night on cloudy days. The leaves are slender, light green, shallowly lobed and have toothed edges. This plant is often used as one of the most spectacular ornamental garden plants.
– Growing Conditions
This flower will grow up to 12 inches tall, and will self-seed freely to return yearly. It thrives in sandy, well-drained soils, and full sun. Marigolds will require moderate watering and are generally drought-tolerant when established. They have no serious disease or pest issues and will grow in a large range of climates — typically from two to 11.
They are useful as showy flowers and ground cover on large areas and will create beautiful scenery year after year. It is a good plant to grow on flower beds and borders, rock gardens, and containers.
10. Wormwood Mugwort
Mugwort is a very old plant, known to us as a perennial often used as a bitter-tasting tonic. This is an excellent addition to the garden, making some airy texture perfect to create a light effect with its bright colors.
– Characteristics
Snakes don’t like the presence of this plant in your garden and will detest it. This snake-repelling plant fits perfectly in flower beds and makes for a beautiful flower arrangement addition when cut. As you do so, you won’t see the reptile’s approach.
– Features
This highly attractive plant is appreciated for its deep green foliage and attractive creamy flowers that grow in vertical lines.
These lovely sprays of tiny blooms grow on top of slightly arching stems from summer to autumn. On the other hand, the foliage is also thin with silver undersides.
– Growing Conditions
Mugworts grow up to five feet tall and spread up to three feet. They thrive in rich, well-drained soils and full sun or shade.
However, note that tou should be careful to provide good drainage to prevent root rot. It’s fairly easy to grow and is tolerant to drought and pests. Mugwort is winter hardy in climate zones of four to nine.
11. Devil Trumpet
Also known as Jimson’s weed, this plant has an awful smell that deters snakes. It contains alkaloids that have hallucinogenic effects — exactly why it bears the more popular name of devil trumpet or the devil’s snare.
– Characteristics
You should place it rather away from the house where it can protect you from snakes, although the flowers emit a sweet smell.
– Features
This one has an overpowering smell and grows as a shrubby perennial bearing upward trumpet-like flowers. These extend up to seven inches long, and they would come in a variety of colors. The blooms last from spring to early frost, opening in the evening and closing for the afternoon sunlight.
The flowers give way to knobby capsules which split open to release seeds when ripe. The foliage is rather coarse with oval, dark green leaves extending up to eight inches long which have a rather unpleasant odor when bruised or cut.
– Growing Conditions
This one grows up to four feet high and is almost the same in width. Unless controlled, these plants can self-seed and become invasive. They enjoy full sun and are best when grown in rich, well-drained, and moist soils.
They are virtually disease free, but will sometimes have problems with spider mites, whiteflies, or mealybugs. Devil trumpets won’t survive a cold winter and are winter-hardy only in zones nine and 10.
All parts of this plant are very toxic when ingested, so you should be careful if you have kids or pets around, but this will make it a highly effective snake repellent.
Conclusion
When you want to get rid of snakes, there’s no need of moving out of the house! There are some great natural remedies and plants you can grow in your garden to keep the snakes away.
Here’s all about the key points of this article:
- Whether you decide on tropical snake plants, Indian snake roots, or some more common garlic, marigolds, or mugwort, these are proven to repel snakes like nothing you’ve seen!
- You can always plant different options like lemongrass or society garlic that would release natural fragrant aromas repelling the reptiles.
- The snake plant is one that they would hate to confront, because of the poisonous sap that it has, which would bother these reptiles.
Now you know all about the natural ways to repel snakes from entering your house, or your garden, and even to spot them anywhere near you! Which one will you be picking?
