Do you kill snakes you find in your yard?

[Redneck_Crow]

I don't kill them. I've never had venomous snakes in my current yard, but I have relocated copperheads that liked to visit my stepfather's yard when he was living 20 feet from a creek in West Virginia. We used to take a trash can, pole them into it, drive them a mile or so down the road, and dump them out. He was a cool guy. He didn't believe in killing anything that wasn't harming him unless he was going to eat it.

I have a resident gartersnake in the front yard. On the occasions that I've got something available, I've fed her. And here's something that y'all might not have known--wild snakes will eat f/t rodents. Or at least one of them will.

I haven't seen Sadie yet this year, and she may have succumbed to old age or lawnmowers. I'm keeping an eye out for her though. I've still got a couple of smallish mice tucked away in the freezer for her just in case she shows up.