Posted: 5/25/2011 10:10:41 AM EDT
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I removed the access panel on a hot tub and found a three foot long Copperhead staring at me.
I jumped back and gave him space and hoped he would slither away but no dice. I grabbed a hooked metal rod that was holding a hanging pot and managed to pick it up and walk it about fifteen yards to the edge of the woods and let him go. The homeowner, a nice woman said she routinely sees Copperheads on her property and knew one was close by because she could smell it. I thought that strange and she proceeded to tell me Copperheads have a terrible smell and she knows when one is close by. I guess I was to concerned with the snake to notice any odor. Any truth to this? |
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Most snakes have a potent musk. I can usually smell them. Anyway good job.
I removed the access panel on a hot tub and found a three foot long Copperhead staring at me. I jumped back and gave him space and hoped he would slither away but no dice. I grabbed a hooked metal rod that was holding a hanging pot and managed to pick it up and walk it about fifteen yards to the edge of the woods and let him go. The homeowner, a nice woman said she routinely sees Copperheads on her property and knew one was close by because she could smell it. I thought that strange and she proceeded to tell me Copperheads have a terrible smell and she knows when one is close by. I guess I was to concerned with the snake to notice any odor. Any truth to this? Was the hot tub chick hot??? |
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I removed the access panel on a hot tub and found a three foot long Copperhead staring at me. I jumped back and gave him space and hoped he would slither away but no dice. I grabbed a hooked metal rod that was holding a hanging pot and managed to pick it up and walk it about fifteen yards to the edge of the woods and let him go. The homeowner, a nice woman said she routinely sees Copperheads on her property and knew one was close by because she could smell it. I thought that strange and she proceeded to tell me Copperheads have a terrible smell and she knows when one is close by. I guess I was to concerned with the snake to notice any odor. Any truth to this? No. Many snakes will release a musk when disturbed, but there is no distinct smell to a copperhead. A lot of people say they smell like cucumbers. That's not true either. |
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it is here in Texas with cotton mouths Same here , copperheads have no smell as far as I know and we have plenty around here but a cotton mouth is a stinkin sum bitch ! Same here, I can smell a cottonmouth (and lots of times a King Snake) long before I'll see them - but with the dozens, if not hundreds, of copperheads I've killed I never picked up on scent that much. (And I NEVER kill the King Snakes - Hell, I import those. They do one hell of a job keeping the copperheads and water moccasins away...) |
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I pulled the cover off of my Royal Kamado grill on the patio Saturday and heard a coffee can I keep for ashes tip over. Sounded like it came from the back side, so I stooped down and looked, and saw a snake coiled up underneath the grill.
I backed off and watched as he uncoiled and climbed up the side of the grill and looked at me. He was flitting his tongue out to get a clue. After a bit he slid back down the grill and slithered off down the back of the house behind the bushes. 4-5 foot pine snake. I've seen him around a couple of times. He's pretty cool. This might explain the sudden absence of chipmunks. 
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it is here in Texas with cotton mouths Same here , copperheads have no smell as far as I know and we have plenty around here but a cotton mouth is a stinkin sum bitch ! Same here, I can smell a cottonmouth (and lots of times a King Snake) long before I'll see them - but with the dozens, if not hundreds, of copperheads I've killed I never picked up on scent that much. (And I NEVER kill the King Snakes - Hell, I import those. They do one hell of a job keeping the copperheads and water moccasins away...) A BIG +1 here. I can smell a Cottonmouth, no problemo...my Grandfather says that Copperheads smell like Cucumbers to him and he used to ALWAYS smell them, long before we saw them...no bueno for me though |
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Quoted: Quoted: I removed the access panel on a hot tub and found a three foot long Copperhead staring at me. I jumped back and gave him space and hoped he would slither away but no dice. I grabbed a hooked metal rod that was holding a hanging pot and managed to pick it up and walk it about fifteen yards to the edge of the woods and let him go. The homeowner, a nice woman said she routinely sees Copperheads on her property and knew one was close by because she could smell it. I thought that strange and she proceeded to tell me Copperheads have a terrible smell and she knows when one is close by. I guess I was to concerned with the snake to notice any odor. Any truth to this? No. Many snakes will release a musk when disturbed, but there is no distinct smell to a copperhead. A lot of people say they smell like cucumbers. That's not true either. It's been my experience that they do have a cucumber smell. It's not exactly like a cuke but close. Of all the venomous snakes to deal with, copperheads are the least concerning to me. I'll still dispatch them on my property, though. There are plenty of other snakes to eat mice and what not and they don't run the risk of sending me to the hospital if I happen to put my hands or butt in the wrong place. |
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I have heard about copperheads having a strong odor, but I never noticed when I saw this one last fall: http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/5998/copperheadresized.jpg Wow, that is a biggun |
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I removed the access panel on a hot tub and found a three foot long Copperhead staring at me. I jumped back and gave him space and hoped he would slither away but no dice. I grabbed a hooked metal rod that was holding a hanging pot and managed to pick it up and walk it about fifteen yards to the edge of the woods and let him go. The homeowner, a nice woman said she routinely sees Copperheads on her property and knew one was close by because she could smell it. I thought that strange and she proceeded to tell me Copperheads have a terrible smell and she knows when one is close by. I guess I was to concerned with the snake to notice any odor. Any truth to this? No. Many snakes will release a musk when disturbed, but there is no distinct smell to a copperhead. A lot of people say they smell like cucumbers. That's not true either. It's been my experience that they do have a cucumber smell. It's not exactly like a cuke but close. Of all the venomous snakes to deal with, copperheads are the least concerning to me. I'll still dispatch them on my property, though. There are plenty of other snakes to eat mice and what not and they don't run the risk of sending me to the hospital if I happen to put my hands or butt in the wrong place. I've had about 11 captive copperheads of 2 different subspecies and caught quite a few more in the wild. They don't have any unique smell. Their cages have a smell when they need cleaned, but it smells exactly like a cage from a boa, kingsnake, or anything else. |
| I knew they had a very distinctive smell but never could smell them myself. My dogs are my snake finders. Cats are pretty good too. When a snake is close, they will get really jumpy at any little movement. They've killed two this year already. Brought one in the garage to play with afterwards. |
| Strange how some can smell them and others get nothing. Good ole Cottonmouth smell like blue-john milk (slightly spoiled) sweet milk. When in the woods during summer and early fall I can light a smoke and get wind drift no matter how slight to find those most foul-tempered suckers. I have always tried to find a Coral and Copperhead in the wild, but i just can't make it happen. I have a reptile/amphib nose cause I generally ask others if they smell the same smell I get. I love the smell of a little green grass snake. I guess I was a Speckled King Snake in a past life. |
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I think the only way to settle this is to set up a little test.
I will set up a meeting with a neutral party, perhaps one of the respected mods such as DK Prof. Three containers will be placed before the subject, each containing either a rattlesnake, copperhead, or garter snake. Each box will be opened and the subject will be asked to sniff each snake blindfolded. Once each snake has been sniffed sufficiently, he will attempt to determine which box contained the copperhead. This will be repeated at least 4 times. I think this should settle it.
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I've never noticed a smell with copperheads but like everyone else says, cottonmouths stink.
The thing that really makes copperheads dangerous is that they won't move, they'll just lay there. Most snakes will attempt to get out of your way when you're walking through the woods or down a trail but a copperhead will just sit there until you step on it and then it will bite you. Otherwise they're not very aggressive snakes and won't bite unless provoked. |
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The only way the sniff test works is if you handle them first.Ive got 2 Garter snakes and the only time the release their musk is when they get handled I don't recall copperhead musk smelling particularly cucumbery. If the musk did smell like cucumbers, it still would not be something you would just detect walking through the woods near one. ETA: This guy did stink, but he had no noticeable smell until I picked him up and he musked me. 
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The only way the sniff test works is if you handle them first.Ive got 2 Garter snakes and the only time the release their musk is when they get handled I don't recall copperhead musk smelling particularly cucumbery. If the musk did smell like cucumbers, it still would not be something you would just detect walking through the woods near one. ETA: This guy did stink, but he had no noticeable smell until I picked him up and he musked me. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/Misifits0138/cottonmouth.jpg Holy crap. Saw the Cobra head on your shirt and was gonna say you're VERY mistaken about the species. But then the whole black and white thing clued me in. 
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Quoted: This guy did stink, but he had no noticeable smell until I picked him up and he musked me. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/Misifits0138/cottonmouth.jpg 
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I'm sure there are a lot of wild senses and intuitions we have lost touch with. Quoted:
The thing that really makes copperheads dangerous is that they won't move, they'll just lay there. Most snakes will attempt to get out of your way when you're walking through the woods or down a trail but a copperhead will just sit there until you step on it and then it will bite you. Otherwise they're not very aggressive snakes and won't bite unless provoked. I was walking through a mowed lot once, and I caught myself mid-step as I was about to step right on a copperhead. He didn't move a muscle, and I even thought he was dead at first. I was shocked and just stared at it in disbelief. About 30 seconds passed while I stood there wondering what to do and he sat perfectly still. And then the thought hit me with sudden resolve: "I'm going to kill this little bastard." As soon as that decision entered my mind, the snake took off running (er.. slithering). But it was too late for him. I picked up a heavy stick and we had an epic battle that ended in his death. The little bastards can read minds. |
| My great-grandmother passed on the info about the cucumber smell of copperheads. She grew up in a log-cabin in southern Indiana; when she would walk outside in the morning, she said she could smell cucumbers. The copperheads would stretch-out to sun themselves between the logs of the cabin. |