use Devel::Peek; my $foo; Dump($foo); { my $r = \$foo; Dump($foo); } Dump($foo); __output__ SV = NULL(0x0) at 0x8107e34 REFCNT = 1 FLAGS = (PADBUSY,PADMY) SV = NULL(0x0) at 0x8107e34 REFCNT = 2 FLAGS = (PADBUSY,PADMY) SV = NULL(0x0) at 0x8107e34 REFCNT = 1 FLAGS = (PADBUSY,PADMY)