With the slugs that they eat, among other things, they are almost as welcome as spiders ;-). Ask the boss if holes in hostas that are seen all the time are better than the occational snake sighting.

tj

By 'boss' do you mean your wife? Yikes. Tell her to speak to St. Patrick. Snakes are extremely beneficial creatures and garter snakes are utterly non-threatening to humans. She needs to reign in her phobia so that it doesn't rub off on the children.

Tell her that she can avoid personal contact with snakes by announcing her presence. Snakes can feel the vibration of stomping feet and will typically evacuate an area immediately. They don't have ears, but depend upon other sensors to detect dangers.