Fire Ants in rack?

[Bogertophis]

https://www.mnn.com/your-home/at-hom...e-ant-invasion

I think that DE (diatomaceous earth) works but probably not fast enough (esp. for FIRE ants! )

Afterthought on rosemary oil: to me it seems similar to cedar oil, which is an irritating "no-no" for snakes and the same probably true for wintergreen oil.

BUT, part of the battle with ants is to stop them where they come into your house or where they get into your cages...you don't necessarily have to put any
of these things into the snake's actual enclosure, but outside at the base where the ants climb in.* And apparently ants follow each other's scent-mark trails
so you want to disrupt that or they keep coming back. Have you ever noticed that if you kill ants & leave their bodies, the other ants will come & carry them
away (like overnight)? That also helps to discourage & teach them not to come back...yes, I've battled ants before. Thankfully not fire ants...And I also hate
to use any toxic pesticides.

*For example: if ants are getting onto a table, put a small bowl (plastic margarine tub works great) under each leg with some powdered remedy in it that
they must walk thru...that really works well! (they don't like walking thru 'cleanser w/ bleach' for example, also DE, salt, etc.)

It helps to figure out what the ants want from you & your place: sounds like they might want water? They often travel thru walls & under houses along the
plumbing pipes, so they end up in kitchen & bathrooms but it's not always for "food" or even water. The only time I get ants here (& yes, in my kitchen &
bathrooms) is after a lot of rain...they're looking for higher ground & following old trails along my pipes...they're so freaking annoying, but I think I've finally
re-trained them now. There's lots of ants in my yard (around my house) but I don't bother them outside, only if they come in. Around here, many of them
eat & break down the leaves...I know because I see them marching along carrying bits of leaves. Anyway, if it's been really dry where you are, the way they're
getting into your snake cage (humid?) & under the water bowl suggests to me that they want water...?