Alright let's do this

WARNING: DO NOT DO WHAT I DID. IT WAS IDIOTIC AND I DID NOT KNOW WHAT EVENTS WOULD FOLLOW.

So yesterday as I'm taking the trash out to the trash cans in the backyard (I have to walk all the way around the house), I saw this snake.

It was between me and the trash cans.

Now I've seen a couple of black racers (nonvenomous snakes that are actually very helpful and will rather flee than fight) near that area of the backyard. Granted, I've always chased the black racers off so I wouldn't have to deal with them (I'm terrified of snakes that are not in zoos). Naturally, I'm fed up with snakes, so I decide to kill it. Note: I had no clue what species this was at the time.

I walked all the way back around my house and climbed over furniture in my  garage to reach a hoe then walked back to the snake. I spent about five to ten minutes trying to kill the snake, just to end up pinning it with my hoe.

I was barefoot and wearing shorts. I knew that was not a good idea, but I didn't think it would take long and that I would kill it quickly.

Because the snake just WOULD NOT DIE, I called my sister (who was in the house) and asked to grab a neighbor to help me kill the snake. I told her I had it pinned and I could not move.

She came outside and instead of immediately asking a neighbor to help me kill it (she had earlier said she didn't want to help kill a snake), she decided to ARGUE with me for anywhere between ten and twenty minutes, calling my mom to see what she should do. She utterly refused to get a neighbor and told me to let it go and run.

If I have a snake pinned, there is no way I'm letting it go under any circumstances (as long as I'm safe while it's pinned). If I have it pinned, I'm always aiming to kill.

After a while, my mom finally sees the photo of the snake and goes into a panic. She tells my sister to get a neighbor immediately. As my sister is walking to get a neighbor, another neighbor was outside and asked her if she needed help (I guess she looked panicked or preoccupied). She explained what was going on, and as soon as she mentioned I had a snakes pinned, the neighbor dropped what he was doing, ran inside his garage, and back out with a shovel, and told my sister to take him to the snake.

If an adult drops everything immediately to help with something (like kill a snake) that you had refused to help or even GET help for, YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING WRONG.

The neighbor came over and killed the snake for me. After it was dead, he identified it as a water moccasin (or cotton mouth, whatever you call it. This is the exact same type of snake one of the adults I know had killed recently.

And here's the aftermath (the whole ordeal took about 20 or thirty minutes).

Moral of the story: if you see a snake, leave it alone. If you are dead set on it being killed, get a neighbor (preferably an strong adult who will actually kill it) and follow their instructions. If someone has a snake pinned, don't let them let go of it and GET SOMEONE TO HELP IMMEDIATELY. You never know if it may try to come after you or if it's venomous.

AND WEAR CLOSED TOED SHOES, LIKE TENNIS SHOES. PROTECT YOURSELF AND STAY SAFE.