hey emily, i hope my info/experiences can help you out a little.
unfortunately i'm sad to say my dad is one of those who grabs a shovel when a rattler is spotted too close to the house. he says "a good snake is a dead snake." although it always made me a little sad to know the snakes were killed, i do however understand my dad's reason, protecting me. i was always out & about pickin' up anything & everything i found, alive & dead, indiscriminately thrusting hands into bushes & holes on my never ending search for critters. not to mention i was always up a tree just hanging out or looking for baby birds to gawk at. i dont have enough toes or fingers to use to count how many times a rattler has almost been stepped on by one of us cuz it found the perfect camouflaged basking spot. the only snake my dad has ever let live after having been discovered were the kings & i actually "rescued" one when it was found & cornered by our dog. his barking alerted me to the situation as the snake was trying so hard to blend in & hide itself from the frantic dog. i picked up the snake & released it in the hills near the house so it could go on to eat more rattlers.
although i have a paralyzing fear that my 7 yr old disabled son will someday run into trouble with a wild snake in our neighborhood cuz he's just like i was with being oblivious to danger & his being disabled plays a huge part in that. he knows no enemies, human or not & that is bound to land him in a pickle should he come across a cool lookin' critter or "friendly" stranger. i believe that tears at every parent's heart & it's an unavoidable danger but the best defense us parents have is arming our babies with knowledge while being ever watchful.
when our backyard fence is finally built i'm gonna go the extra mile to secure the fence with more wire (since it's gonna be a split rail) that'll hopefully prevent venomous snakes from entering our yard while also keeping their potential food sources on the property minimal as much as possible but i'm fully aware of
"where there's a will, there's a way."
i have a very prominant fear of venomous snakes, instilled in me from my upbringing, but i channel that fear into respect & use it to admire the critters from a distance but i tell ya, i get a little chill through me upon seeing them whether on tv or here. they're fascinating no doubt. i'm going through the process of educating my oldest daughter about the local wildlife, especially the venomous snakes so that if she comes across something she'll be able to identify it enough to know to leave it alone.
kevin b - funny you should mention that cuz that's precisely my mom's reason for hating snakes. which bugs me to no end cuz i've gone
"mom! if the devil disguised himself as a bunny, would you say bunny's are bad or evil too?!"
i mean c'mon really?!
thats all i'm gonna say about that topic.