In my neighborhood almost everyone can tell the difference between a good snake and a bad one (poisonous), even the kids. Most everyone kills the bad on sight. I started out that way, but since we added dogs to our family, they seem to be a deterrent, and except for small coral snakes, none stick around anymore.
As for the water snakes, I am lucky in that my fish breed year round and the snake(s) eat so few in comparison to what hatch that the loss is negligible.
Another thing I have noticed here, is that almost nothing really takes up permanent residence, crabs, snakes, and turtles all move on.
