Cucumber Odor Could Signal Danger Is Lurking In New York

It sounds weird, but if you smell cucumbers in your backyard (and don't have a garden), you might want to back out of there.

Cucumbers are normally a calming smell

How many times have you been searching for a lotion or a skin care product and seen a product that is scented with cucumbers?  Probably a lot.  It's meant to be a soothing and calming smell.  People often use the term "cool as a cucumber."  But sometimes it could mean danger.

The scent of cucumbers in the wild could indicate danger

If you smell cucumbers, it could be a copperhead snake.  According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, copperheads give off an odor, that is produced by glands at the base of the tail.  It is given off at will and may also be mixed with feces. To some individuals, this musk may smell somewhat like cucumbers.

They do add that it is a scent that is essentially expelled.  So it's possible that if it doesn't release the smell, you could walk right by it and not even know.  "A snake has to have a reason to expel it's musk."

Are copperheads dangerous?

Copperheads have a nasty bite.  It can be incredibly painful and expensive to treat.  However, they're rarely fatal.

Do copperheads live in New York State?

There are 17 species of snakes in New York and only three of them that are venomous.  The three that are native to New York and call New York State home are the timber rattlesnake, the massasauga (erroneously called "pygmy rattler"), and the copperhead.

The copperhead is mainly found along the lower Hudson Valley and scattered through the Catskills.