If you smell cucumbers in MS, a copperhead is near? See if science backs old wives’ tale

Summer is still in full swing and that means sweltering weather and snake encounters.

So, if you’re like me, you’ve heard a lot about snakes over the years. Sure, some of the rumors are true, but not all of them. One thing I heard growing up: if you smell cucumbers, it means a copperhead is lurking and could be close enough to strike.

I guess I’m not the only one who heard this growing up, because I recently came across a TikTok video that brought the memory of this tale flooding back. Take a look:

So, what do the experts say?

Is it true that if you smell cucumbers, a copperhead is near?

Well, sorry for anyone who has believed this like I have, but it’s not true. Or at least, some of it isn’t.

Live Science experts said that copperheads do release a “musk” when touched or threatened. But does it really smell like cucumbers and does the musk mean there’s a copperhead near?

Experts in Georgia said the copperhead cucumber smell is a superstition.

“A common misconception is that copperheads smell like cucumbers, and that if that is smelled in the woods, a snake is nearby,” experts said in a copperhead fact sheet series . “It does not smell like cucumbers, nor does it mean that a copperhead is near.”

Even blogger Mike Van Halen said that the cucumber wives’ tale is false. “There is no scientific evidence backing up this claim,” Halen wrote in a “Countering Copperhead Misinformation” blog post. “Plenty of people who study wild copperheads and work with them daily have never smelled cucumbers associated with these snakes, even in areas where large numbers of them gather for the winter.”

So, if you smell cucumbers out in the woods, you’re probably safe. However, if it’s me, I’m still going to get the heck out of Dodge. No need to chance it.

Have you ever heard this old wives’ tale about copperheads? Comment below to let me know or email me at cmadden@mcclatchy.com

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