My grandma used a hoe or the edge of a shovel, whichever was handy. One time she killed a copperhead in our front yard, something that my mother was quite happy with.

As long as they're not bothering me I'm at peace with 'em. Last summer I was walking along the trail down at the Cherry Springs nature walk, my wife about 50 feet ahead, when a little ol' rattler, maybe two feet long, crawled out onto the trail between us. I stopped, the snake looked at me, stuck out its tongue, and crawled off into the grass on the edge of the creek. My wife was forging on ahead and never saw the snake.

Of course, 25 feet away is close enough for me...especially for pit vipers and other things like that.