diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/vars/host_group_vars.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/vars/host_group_vars.py
index 9612b2f4b98..6bebdb0f340 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/vars/host_group_vars.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/vars/host_group_vars.py
@@ -108,6 +108,8 @@ class VarsModule(BaseVarsPlugin):
                 if os.path.isdir(full_path):
                     # matched dir name, so use all files included recursively
                     for spath in os.listdir(full_path):
+                        if spath.startswith('.'):
+                            continue
                         full_spath = os.path.join(full_path, spath)
                         if os.path.isdir(full_spath):
                             found.extend(self._find_vars_files(full_spath, ''))