Kids love playing outside in their sandboxes. It’s something that can help many kids to use their imaginations, and you might even have fond memories of playing in a sandbox when you were very young.
It’s definitely nice to have a sandbox in your backyard for your children to play in. However, it’s going to be a bit concerning when you notice ants in the sandbox.
Ants are going to be around outside, but this doesn’t mean that you want them in your kid’s sandbox. They could even be somewhat harmful to your kids if they happen to be allergic to ant bites.
You’re going to want to do what you can to get rid of the ants in the sandbox. But how can you keep ants out of a sandbox effectively?
Read on to learn some of the best approaches that will help you to eliminate this ant problem. If you are able to utilize the advice below, then your kids will be able to play in the sandbox without having to worry about ants moving forward.
1 – Clean the Sandbox Thoroughly
Cleaning the sandbox thoroughly is a good place to start when you’re trying to eliminate ants. If your kid’s sandbox appears to have many ants inside, then they might be living in the sand.
In this situation, the best thing to do is going to be to get rid of the sand. You can remove the sand from the sandbox and start over again.
This will take a bit of work, but it’s generally the easiest thing to do when you’re dealing with a significant ant infestation. You might want to take steps to kill the ants first if they’re dangerous, of course.
Some ant types such as fire ants can bite humans, and this can be quite painful. Ants can be killed using white vinegar and you’ll be happy to know that this is going to be safe for your kids as well.
Go around the sandbox and spray things down with white vinegar. The easiest way to go about doing this is to create a white vinegar and water mixture that you can spray.
Use one part water and one part white vinegar and you’ll have a simple spray that will work wonders. Not only will this spray kill ants on contact, but it’ll also repel ants from the area.
You can use the properties of white vinegar to your advantage later on, but once the ants have been dealt with, it’ll be time to focus on cleaning. Just do your best to clean the sandbox thoroughly to ensure that no eggs were left behind.
Once things look to be good, it’ll be possible to just move on with putting new sand in the sandbox. Your kids should be able to enjoy using the sandbox once more.
2 – Keep the Sandbox Covered with a Tarp
You shouldn’t make things easy for ants that want to get into the sandbox. If you aren’t covering the sandbox when it isn’t in use, then ants are going to be able to come and go as they please.
The simple act of covering up the sandbox when it’s not in use will make a big difference. You could buy a standard tarp and just use that to keep the sandbox covered.
This is good because it also helps to keep the sand from getting wet during rainstorms. Your kids won’t be able to use the sandbox if things get really wet and this means that it makes sense to use a tarp for multiple reasons.
Of course, you could also choose to buy some type of airtight lid for your sandbox. Some sandboxes come with really good lids, and others will build customer sandbox covers for sandboxes that they built themselves.
The important thing to remember is that the sandbox needs to remain covered when your kids aren’t playing. Just try to use something that will keep bugs out and keep the rain away from the sand inside of the box.
3 – Line the Bottom of the Sandbox
Lining the bottom of the sandbox with landscaping fabric can really make a difference as well. People use landscaping fabric such as this in their garden areas to help eliminate weeds and control bug problems.
This is also going to work very nicely in your child’s sandbox. This is a thin type of fabric that’s very breathable and allows water to get through.
It just keeps bugs from being able to enter the sandbox from underneath. This means that you won’t have to worry about ants burrowing in from underground or anything such as that.
You’ll love how affordable landscaping fabric is, too. It isn’t going to cost you much money at all to get enough to line the bottom of a sandbox.
This is a highly recommended step that you can take to reduce ant problems. It’ll be far less likely that you’ll have significant issues with ants if you’re using landscaping fabric to line the sandbox.
4 – Get Rid of Anthills Near Your Sandbox Area
It’s also going to be wise to try to get rid of anthills that are near the sandbox area. You likely have other spots where ants are congregating in your yard and these spots might be too close to your sandbox.
If you make some white vinegar spray, then you’ll be able to go around getting rid of anthills. Many people will find anthill entrances and just pour white vinegar down the anthills to try to get rid of many ants at once.
This could be a good idea that will reduce the number of ants that you have in your yard. Fewer ants will make it less likely that ants will go near the sandbox moving forward.
When you’re deciding on a spot for a sandbox, it’s usually a good idea to try to pick a location that isn’t too close to spots where bugs seem to gather. If you can’t move your sandbox, then you can at least try to eliminate the bugs to make the sandbox safer for your kids.
It might be better to use white vinegar spray than it would be to use chemical sprays. People don’t like using chemical sprays near areas where their kids are going to be playing, but the natural ant repellents and ant-killing methods should work just fine.
5 – Consider Planting Plants That Repel Ants
You could also plant some things that are known to repel ants. Certain plants are capable of keeping ants away because ants just don’t like the way that those plants smell.
There are actually many different options to consider if you’d like to give this a try. You could try planting sage, spearmint, or peppermint somewhere near the sandbox.
Doing so might help to keep your kids safe from ants so it’s worth looking into. You’ll want to ensure that your kids aren’t allergic to these plants before you move forward with this idea, though.
When you have plants such as this in your yard, it’ll do a good job of keeping ants at bay. Many people use this idea when they have ant problems near their houses.
You could plant some peppermint plants around the border of your home to keep ants from wanting to get too close. It works remarkably well and these plants aren’t all that hard to care for either.
Final Thoughts
It shouldn’t be too difficult to get rid of ants in your children’s sandbox. You will need to go to some effort to replace the sand if you’re dealing with a bad ant infestation, but you’ll get the job done.
Cleaning the sandbox to get rid of ant eggs will be an important part of the process. You can spray white vinegar around to get rid of ants and it’ll also help to keep them from wanting to come back.
It’ll be a good idea to try to get rid of anthills that are near the sandbox using the white vinegar spray. Try to keep ants as far away from the sandbox as you can.
In the future, you’ll be able to remember the importance of covering the sandbox when it isn’t in use. Using a tarp to cover the sandbox protects it from bugs, and it also keeps the sand from getting soaked when it rains.
You should also buy landscaping fabric that you can use to line the bottom of the sandbox. This will prevent ants and other bugs from being able to burrow in from the bottom and ruin your children’s fun.
Even planting plants such as peppermint will be a good idea when you’re trying to keep ants away. You have many things that you can do to turn things around, and now all that you need to do is take the time to solve the ant problem.
Your kids will be happy that you were able to make their sandbox safe for them to play in again. Enjoy watching your children create special memories in the sandbox and know that you’ll be able to keep things safe from ants in the future by remaining vigilant.
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, you can find him at home with wife and two daughters. Outside of family, He loves grilling and barbequing on his Big Green Egg and Blackstone Griddle, as well as working on projects around the house.
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