I don't kill any snake on my property. If it's venomous and in the yard, I just use a snake hook and urge it to go back into the woods....timber rattlers and copperheads thrive where I live.

After working with snakes for over 15 years I've learned one thing, most venomous snake sightings are not copperheads or cottonmouths at all but harmless water snakes. Ppl know I love snakes and over the years I've had tons of ppl bring me carcasses of dead 'cottonmouths' or 'copperheads' or pics for a positive identification and not one of them has been a cottonmouth, copperhead or even a venomous snake for that matter.

Mostly northern water snakes and everything from rough green snakes, garter snakes, speckled kings to prairie kings and even a ringneck, yep a ringneck was misidentified and killed as a cottonmouth.

As for the kids, you have to teach them to leave wild snakes alone. Just as you teach them to look both ways before they cross the road. If one wants their kids safe, then one better lock them in their bedrooms and even then they can break their arm falling off the top bunk bed! And when that happens do you get rid of the bed? It's dangerous and caused a broken arm and pain.