I have a small (24", I think) tanto sword that I found for ten bucks. It's easier to carry and easier to use than a machete, and serves the same function, cutting down the ivy in the yard and hacking through brush in the woods.
It hasn't met a snake yet, but I have faith that it would get the job done.
My dad grew up in Florida, and his sangfroid around snakes wowed me twice when I was a kid. Once, we were running out to play in the back yard, and he held out his arm and waved us back.
He picked up the BB gun on the porch, pumped it 7 or 8 times, shouldered, aimed and fired. I didn't see the copperhead about 30 feet away until I saw its head explode. Dad picked it up, and as he carried the two-foot carcass back to the garbage can, told us we could go play. We did, after standing there slack-jawed for a minute.
The second time was at Sea World. A snake slithered across one of the paved trails in the park, clearing a path as people jumped back, some of them squealing. Even I could tell that it was a black racer, and harmless. it hid under a push-cart selling ice cream, and the kid with the push-cart jumped back.
Dad calmly walked over, pulled the cart aside, and in one deft motion swept his hand under the snake and pinned its mouth shut between his thumb and forefinger. It wasn't venomous, but a bite still hurts.
By this time, some more park employees had showed up to investigate the commotion. Dad held the wriggling snake and asked, "where should I put this?" They pointed, and Dad tossed the snake over a fence. It slithered off, no doubt with a new resolve to avoid further human contact.
When I was about 8 my mother had a bunch of church ladies over for a get together. One of the ladies screamed, momma grabbed a manual lawn edger, threw it like a spear, and whacked a moccasin in the yard, from 20 feet out.
They don’t make many ladies like her these days.