MISSOURI, USA — As people prepare for this year's cicada emergence in Missouri, recent viral posts have some worried they should also be preparing for a coinciding snake emergence.
The numerous posts, one from a Bridgeton Nextdoor page by a 5 On Your Side viewer, say that a byproduct of this year's massive cicada brood is more copperheads, claiming the venomous snakes love to feast on the newly emerged insects.
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The snakes are easy to identify among Missouri's other reptiles, according to the state's Department of Conservation. But does their activity increase with cicadas?
We dug into the facts to VERIFY.
The question:
Does copperhead snake activity increase after a cicada emergence? Do people need to take extra precautions when outside?
Our sources:
- Justin Elden, curator for herpetology at the Saint Louis Zoo
- Jeff Briggler, state herpetologist at the Missouri Department of Conservation
The answer:
No, the cicada brood will not lead to an increase in copperhead snakes. People do not need to take extra precautions while outside.
What we found:
The posts claim copperheads will be posted up under and in trees feasting on the insects as they emerge from the ground.
It's true that copperheads do eat cicadas, but the snakes don't actively hunt the insects.
"Whenever these cicada blooms do occur, [copperheads] just so happen to opportunistically come across the cicadas and feed upon them," Elden said. "Your copperheads are not going to multiply magically because of the cicada bloom."
The post also claimed parents shouldn't let their children outside due to copperhead activity, but Elden said that's an overreaction.
"I don’t think we need to be any more cautious than we would typically be when cicadas bloom and when it comes to etiquette with venomous snakes," Elden said.
The City of St. Louis and most surrounding suburbs don't even have copperheads. Even in rural and more forested areas, copperheads are more afraid of people than people are of them, just like any snakes.
We can VERIFY: No, the cicada brood emergence will not lead to an increase in copperhead snakes and residents do not need to take extra precautions outside.
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