NOXEN, Pa. — Alaisha Sherwood, the Noxen Volunteer Fire Company assistant chief, has been hunting rattlesnakes for the annual Rattlesnake Round-Up in Noxen for the last 17 years.
"A good friend of mine, he took me under his wing, adopted me, pretty much, to teach me how to do this," Sherwood said.
It was only a matter of time before she took her 12-year-old daughter Annli along with her for educational purposes.
First comes the gear like the boots, the hooks, the jug, and other important tools.
"The boots are just protection. They can't strike through them. I mean, they can bite them, but you know, you're not going to get injected with any type of venom."
"If I were to catch a snake on Saturday and bring it down ... I'm putting it in an old all of jug holes drilled into it. And, you know, it keeps me safe, it keeps them safe."
Then, we ventured a few miles up South Mountain, where we did a practice run. From there, it was time to walk about half a mile into the woods to get to the perfect spot to snake hunt.
"It's got spots that they can get under the rocks, get away from any type of predator or anything that's coming at them. It's also a nice spot for them to sunbathe. It's still shady; it's not super-hot."
Within minutes, we could hear the rattlers' warnings, but we weren't able to catch them.
For competition, you must catch a male snake that is at least 42 inches long, not including the rattle.
Out of the eight rattlers we found over the course of the day, only one showed its head—too tiny to catch and clearly afraid of us.