Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants

See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

rate this answer

2 ratings

Monday - August 02, 2010

From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Non-native lavendar to repel scorpions in Austin
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

We are having a problem with scorpions in our home. A lot of them. I have heard that lavender around the doorways and windowsills will keep them out. Is this true? If so..what form? Certain species, live plants, dried, oil? Thanks so much for your time.

ANSWER:

This is a little out of our line of plants native not only to North America but to the area in which they are being grown. Scorpions, obviously are fauna, not flora, and little beasties. Lavandula, lavender, is native to the Meditteranean area; however, it grows well in Central Texas, but it's not in our Native Plant Database.

Ever so often, we are asked for plants that repel something-deer, snakes, dogs, mosquitoes, and generally speaking, no plants will do a whole lot of good in that respect. We found one site from eHow on How to Repel Scorpions by Rena Sherwood, for a repellant for personal use on a camping trip. Mr. Smarty Plants takes no responsibility for the effectiveness of this mixture. And one more reference on scorpions and lavender, from French Letters Scorpions and Lavender.