How to Kill a Snake
While it is not a good idea, or even necessary to kill snakes, there are several methods to end the life of these creatures. Snakes are definitely creatures that fear humans more than humans fear them, but out of human fear comes aggression. Maybe we've all seen too many movies and heard to many horror stories of snake bites, but the majority of times a snake is killed, it is completely without reason and unprovoked. Below I will describe some methods that can be used to exterminate snakes, although as a wildlife removal expert and a wildlife conservationist, I do not advise you kill a snake nor attempt to.
Beheading a Snake
Pointed shovels are very adept at severing the head of a snake if you are trying to kill it in the grass, sand, or other soft material. On concrete, a square-ended shovel will work much more effectively and not damage the shove as much. Again, most species of snakes you will find in your back yard are completely harmless and do not need to be killed or hunted. Please only use the methods in this article to exterminate agressive venomous snakes that pose an actual threat to human life.
Poisoning Snakes
You can put poisoned bait inside of a trap to effectively kill snakes. If I'm going to be frank about it, this is a waste of money and extremely cruel. If you are using a box trap to ensnare a snake for removal or relocation, please do for your own safety in handling a snake. But don't poison the snake. There really is no need and you will have one less snake out there to eat rats and other small invasive species.
Shooting Snakes
Good luck. Seriously. You have to be an excellent marksman to shoot a snake from just about any distance. Most of the time people shooting at snakes end up wasting a bunch of ammunition and risk harming others an d damaging property. Do a live trapping of the snake instead and relocate it to wooded area if it is legal to relocate naticve species in your area.
Crushing the Head of a Snake
Described in popular crime dramas on television as "blunt-force trauma," bashing in the head of a snake is effective at ending its life. I've probably said this numerous times in the article already, but please don't kill snakes. While they are scary looking and their ability to sneak up on you makes for the stuff of nightmares, they are only going to attack when threatened. Nearly all snake bites are the result of humans instigating aggression towards a snake who is just minding his or her own business.