Thanks for reminding me why I live in a cold wet country, no snakes!
How do you kill snakes anyway (apart from decaptiation), poison?
A pet mongoose would help.
Seriously, though, I think there are repellents available to keep them away. The primary danger is to pets and small children that don't know not to play with them. Teach your kids to respect them but don't give them a phobia.
Most snakes will retreat faster than I do. Down here you can buy hard plastic snake protectors that fit from the knee to the ankle in any type of outdoor store. Academy is one.
Cleaning up an overgrown yard is extremely dangerous when you're reaching down into brush, leaf piles, wood piles, etc. It's up to you to convince the wife that it's too dangerous and just hire to have it done. Another reason not to let it go 'back to nature' and keep it squared away.
East Texas has some pretty bad snakes, including the little coral snake, rattlers, water moccasins, and copperheads to name a few.
Steve Irwin wasn't killed by a snake, BTW. And they won't bite a lawyer . . . (professional courtesy).
Ted