Wow, this thread has progressed nicely.
I grew up in Florida and it is definitely snake central there. My dad, used to freak the fuck out on a garter snake and chop it with the shovel into about 12 different pieces. My friend next door had a boa constrictor and it got out and went in our yard and he chopped it in half. It was 6 ft long. What an idiot. But he was deathly scared of snakes.