Yes, They Can Climb That Pole

Last year, I visited a Missouri lady that wanted to be a purple martin landlord.  After walking around her site and advising her about ridding it of the 50+ English House Sparrows and even more starlings that were nesting in her barns, we talked about a good location for her martin housing.
She diligently wiped out the HOSP and EUST using the trapping and shooting methods I shared with her.  She called me 1 month later, very excited to let me know that she had 2 pairs of martins moving in.  I then advised her to put a predator guard on the pole where they had moved in.  We talked about the varieties of guards she could use and she opted for the netting.  I could tell she didn't believe a snake could climb the pole, but she put the guard on anyway.  Three days later she sent me the below pictures.
For anyone that is still questioning the ability of a snake to climb a round pole (or any pole for that matter), the answer is "Yes, yes they can".
I hope this helps serve as a reminder to get your predator guards out.  This bird netting can be found at Lowe's or other multiple online sites and is quickly and easily applied to your purple martin poles.
I work with the most awesome landlords!

Thanks Penny for being an AWESOME landlord!  You never know what is hunting your martins in the night.

A pretty long black snake was looking for a free meal.  He didn't find it here.