Yeah, I understand your dislike of snakes. I don't mind if I can see them from a distance, but they always seem to wait until I am almost stepping on them before they take off. That always freaks me out.
There is one snake that I encourage, and that is a black snake. I was told that they go after rattlesnakes and they eat rats and mice. They also seem to be quite docile. Grass snakes are tolerable. Water snakes are too darn aggressive for my liking. But for the most part, I take a "live and let live" attitude toward all snakes and deal with them as little as possible.