I have a part-shade, sloping bed that I was going to plant with periwinkle for erosion control (and I think vinca's pretty). But then my neighbor mentioned that they'd killed two copperhead snakes that week (we're in the Washington, DC suburbs).

Would a low ground cover such as vinca provide the type of hiding place a snake likes?

Are there better alternatives that look good, hold back erosion and don't encourage snakes?

I really don't want poisonous snakes in the yard where my kid plays, so if I can avoid turning my yard into a snake-friendly habitat, I'd be curious for any suggestions.

Thanks for your advice.

what about really thick matting groundcovers like wooley thyme that spreads extremly fast and other thymes. great weed contolers too. I don't know much about copperheads but I believe they are too thick to hide under things like that.
My snakes love rock piles and branch piles and empty pots, anything they can get under.

Good luck. I will be interested to know what other people say.

Unfortunately I can't think of any vegetation that won't be a potentially attractive place for snakes. Even if you plant nothing at all, nature holds no guarantees so it's a matter of how important a slight reduction in risk of snakebite from very low to very very low is and how important having an attractive natural yard is.