My MIL had a terror of snakes. She was so afraid of them that she kept peacocks in her yard because she heard they eat snakes. Peacocks make a terrible racket, but they made her feel safer. We pulled into her yard one day to see her screaming "Snake! Snake! and chopping at it with the shovel. She was in full panic mode. My DH went to investigate, only to find she had "killed" the black extension cord that ran across the yard to her shed! We still tease her about being a 'big game hunter'! (We got her an orange extension cord to replace the black one.)