Creepers are a very dangerous mob in Minecraft, so players should definitely learn the best ways to avoid them, or eliminate them if they have to.
In Minecraft, creepers are a hostile mob that many players have had at least a few traumatic experiences with before. Creepers are like Zombies and Skeletons in the way that they'll spawn during nighttime and in caves, but they are more dangerous due to the fact that they won't burn in the sunlight. Creepers will silently creep toward a player, give them a short audible warning, and send them to their demise after blowing up.
Minecraft Creepers attack by blowing up and creating a small crater where the explosion happened. This can cause a lot of damage to not only the player, but also the environment around them (including houses or other structures). This can ruin progress on a great Minecraft build, but thankfully some blocks (like obsidian) are unable to be blown up. Upon killed, creepers can drop gunpowder (and even a music disc if it's killed by a skeleton).
Some players wonder how the idea of creepers even came into Minecraft in the first place. Creepers are actually a failed attempt by the game's original creator, Notch, at creating pigs. Instead of widening the model like he should've, according to the Minecraft: The Story of Majong documentary, he accidentally raised the height, creating the creeper model that players see today. Notch then came up with the idea of those new creatures of being hostile and acting like a form of walking TNT.
How To Avoid (Or Kill) Minecraft Creepers
Players should definitely know how to avoid encounters with creepers, especially charged creepers (which do double the damage of regular Minecraft creepers). The best way to do this is simply by running away and staying as far as they can. As an alternative, players could make a bow and arrow to take creepers out from a safe distance. If players don't have a bow on hand, any swords should definitely have knockback to help make sure the creeper isn't in range to explode and to keep it away from the player.
If players have a bad creeper problem, they can go as far as to make a mob trap. These can be made using a variety of materials in Minecraft, such as dispensers, fire, lava, or even cactus. If luring a creeper into a trap, make sure to keep it at a distance. Also, players may be able to make a portable mini trap by bringing around a couple blocks of cactus with them wherever they go, just in case they get attacked while out in the world on a mission. There are multiple different ways to combat the dangers of a Minecraft creeper, so players will just have to try different things and figure out which works best for them - but definitely stay as far away as possible.