Getting an unexpected "up close and personal" encounter with a snake is not my idea of fun, either.
The tale about copperheads and cucumbers is folklore. I looked it up.
We have copperheads here, and I think I saw one once (in 30 years). There are several species that resemble copperheads and I've seen them around, although 95% of the time any snake I've seen is a black snake, probably a variety of king snake.
Any time I pick anything off the ground, I'm wary of snakes. Many moons ago I lifted up the cement block that forms our back step (re-purposed base plate for an AC unit), and it looked like the snake pit from Raiders of the Lost Ark! Bunch of baby black snakes, looked like 10,000 of 'em (realistically, probably 15-20, but I was totally surprised). I just backed off and came back an hour later, and they had slithered off.
Last week Mrs. WM81 was going to mow the lawn, so she picked up the downspout splash blocks (ours are some form of plastic) so she could mow through. There was a snake under one of 'em. Needless to say, she didn't pick that one up and had to mow around it. Like you, she's very un-fond of snakes.
A tip for everyone -- keep your lawn mowed, and cut down any tall weeds. In my case, copperheads like tall grass, and if walking through it's very easy to surprise one ... and it will surprise you back, in a venomous sort of way. If there is no tall vegetation, they'll go elsewhere.