Warning after stowaway snakes and tree-frogs hide in common potted plants
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Snakes, lizards and geckos – these are just some of the creatures sneaking into the country hidden in potted plants and cut flowers. Researchers from the journal Bioscience have warned this is ‘just the tip of the iceberg’. This is because insects, fungi, spiders and agricultural pests are also being imported into the UK through the same means.
![[Warning of stowaway snakes and tree-frogs hiding in pot plants Snakes in potted olive trees are 'tip of the iceberg' of ornamental plant trade hazards]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236420788-946f.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Fast-moving plant shipments into northern Europe make it difficult to detect species as the global market continues to grow. It means these critters could end up in your garden hidden among the potted plants and cut flowers. Disease-carrying insects like mosquitos are also more likely to survive in Europe due to warmer temperatures from climate change.
![[Warning of stowaway snakes and tree-frogs hiding in pot plants Figure 6.(a) Tropical house gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia) introduced in Madeira. (b) Ornamental olive trees imported in Romania. Credit Mihai Leu.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236420785-4d50.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Rising temperatures also mean some ornamental plants being imported from warmer climates flourishing in the wild as invasive species in countries like the UK. Plant shipments could also cause environment-harming microplastics and agrochemicals to enter the soil and cause a wider carbon footprint from transporting cut flowers between continents.
Professor William Sutherland, from the University of Cambridge, is involved in the study. He said: ‘Ornamental olive trees for sale in the UK can be over 100 years old, with many hiding places amongst their gnarly bark and the soil they’re transported in.
‘This is incredibly risky in terms of importing pests. ‘Adult snakes and lizards are just the tip of the iceberg. If they’re getting through, what’s the chance of us spotting small insects and fungi – the things that really cause the problems?’.
