Snakes and spiders slipping into country in flowers and plants

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Spiders, insects, fungi and agricultural pests are being imported into the UK and northern Europe in cut flowers and other ornamental plants.

Snakes and lizards are also slipping unnoticed into northern Europe in vast shipments of flowers and potted plants, researchers have warned.

Continental European snakes, geckos and Italian wall lizards are among the animals making their way to the region in potted olive trees destined for gardens and green space, according to the study published on Friday in the journal Bioscience.

The species can cause extensive damage to food crops and the environment, the paper said, citing the threat invasive snakes are posing to ecosystems on previously snake-free Mediterranean islands like Majorca.

The researchers warned the reptiles are “just the tip of the iceberg”.

Despite regulations and border checks, the volume of fast-moving plant shipments makes it difficult to detect species.

The researchers said climate change could see disease-carrying insects like mosquitos, which previously would have died from the cold in northern Europe, increasingly likely to survive.

Rising temperatures could also lead to some ornamental plants being imported from warmer climates flourishing in the wild as invasive species in countries like the UK.

The study highlighted other environmental and health impacts caused by the trade, including environment-harming microplastics and agrochemicals entering the soil, health-harming pesticide residues and huge water use in producer countries as well as a wider carbon footprint from transporting cut flowers between continents.

Professor William Sutherland of the University of Cambridge’s Department of Zoology, who was involved in the study, 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?”

Dr Silviu Petrovan, also from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Zoology and a senior author of the paper, said: “Even with the best of intentions, unwanted hitchhikers are getting through customs import checks all the time.”

He warned that suppliers often do not operate within the law, citing high-value plants such as orchids and cacti being illegally stripped from tropical habitats and included in shipments.

“Regulations to prevent the trade in protected wild plants are challenging to enforce on a large scale,” he said.

The researchers said improved standards on imported plants are urgently needed.

While the trade remains critical for economies worldwide and supports rural communities across the world, Dr Petrovan said: “We need to push to make the industry more sustainable through things like certifications and better regulation, and to work with those involved in the trade to better understand the risks and how to mitigate them.”