Sand Box or Dirt Pile?

Updated on August 07, 2006
E. asks from Dallas, TX
12 answers

My boys love to play with diggers and dump trucks, but they're destroying our yard! Because of this, I am considering either putting in a dirt pile or a sand box for them, but I remember as a child having a sandbox that was always full of biting bugs. Is there a way to avoid this? Is a dirt pile better, or will it lose its soft dirt feel and turn into big dirt clods after a while? Any thoughts or advice would be helpful. One more question . . . anyone know of a good place to buy dirt or sand?

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So What Happened?

Thanks for all your advice. We've decided to build a sandbox with directions from the DIY network. It'll have a lid to keep out cats, a liner to keep out weeds, and spray to keep out bugs. We decided to build instead of buying so we could have one that was big enough to have several people in at once. Thanks for all your suggestions . . . especially advising me against getting a dirt pile. It would have worked on a farm, but not in my backyard.

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J.H.

answers from Dallas on

Due to biting bugs and the possibility of animals using the bathroom in just a pile of sand, you should get some type of covered container to use as a sandbox. You can just buy one of those hard plastic pools at Wal-mart for about $15 and cover it with a tarp. You should also buy play sand instead of just any old sand. Play sand has been specially treated to remove some type of bad bacteria that is very harmful to children. You can buy play sand at Wal-mart pretty cheaply.

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S.G.

answers from Dallas on

I am thinking that a dirt pile would be much dirtier, especially if it rains. Sand just wipes off for the most part.

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K.K.

answers from Dallas on

Hi E.,
My experience with kids has always been with a sandbox, however my nephew lives in East Texas and they usually have a load of dirt delivered and he plays in it for hours every day. I am not sure how you would get the dirt pile in your yard if you live in the city without too much trouble, but he thoroughly enjoys his dirt pile. When it is almost time to have another one, they fill holes all along their yard with the extra dirt.

K.

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H.C.

answers from Dallas on

My husband built a sandbox earlier this year and we have not experienced any problems with bugs. He included a roof so she would be shaded from the sun and to prevent too much rain from coming in. My daughter absolutely loves it, it is by far her favorite place to play. You can buy sand at Home Depot or Lowe's - it is extremely affordable.

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L.F.

answers from Dallas on

I buy sand for my sandbox at Toys R Us, it's play sand so it's especially for sand boxes.

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B.D.

answers from Dallas on

Hi.
I was recently talking to about buying a sanbox for my son, he's 16 months. I got some unexpected advice: You might want to buy one with a cover if your neighborhood has any stray cats! They like to use it as a litter box. Health related issues there, if you know what i mean. Good luck!

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C.K.

answers from Dallas on

You may prefer a sand box because when it rains the dirt pile will create a lot of mud in your yard and get clumpy. You can keep the pests out of the sandbox by getting one that comes with a tight-fitting cover. My dh made a large square sandbox for our backyard but no cover. The problem is weeds, rain and ants. The unfortunate thing is that the sandboxes you can buy with a cover are relatively small. Good news is they are probably on sale right now since we are heading into the end of summer. You can purchase large bags of play sand at Home Depot or Lowe's. Take your husband, though because they are really heavy. Make sure you get play sand and not a generic sand because all other sand may contain tiny glass particles which is rougher on the skin or if it gets in their eyes.

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A.

answers from Dallas on

Hi, E..
We bought a little sandbox (with a lid) at Target for less than $25. It's *really* small, but they have larger ones, too. And, we bought sand (50 lb. bag, $3 or so) at Lowe's. I'm sure Home Depot, etc., would have it, too.
Good luck!
A.

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L.K.

answers from Dallas on

We haven't had any issues with bugs in our sand boxes, and we've had one type or another for about 4 years now. I would think that if you're really concerned about it, you could get one of the ones that comes with a lid (it's nice to keep the sand dry when it rains as well). Right now we have one that is part of the bottom of our fort, and dh just put weed block underneath it before adding the sand. We've seen a bug or two, but nothing major.

Oh, our boys (ages 2,4, and 6) have loved their sand and water table as well.

As far as where to get sand - we just got ours in large bags at Lowe's/Home Depot.

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C.F.

answers from Dallas on

We got a sandbox for my daughter...she loves it. Its the little tykes I believe (its tan & maroon). It has a lid w/ pulleys to hold it on. The top of the lid has a race track circle for cars..she loves that too. I have it on my covered deck so she's out of the sun...it works well. The sandbox has legs so its off the ground. Ive always heard people getting ants in there if its on the ground. I got it at Target for around $35. It was worth every penny....it gets a lot of use. We forgot one time when it rained to cover it and I just let it dry out a bit and then she liked it b/c she could mold the sand like @ the beach. Hope this helps some. Oh....Home Depot had sand for around $3 for 10pound bag. Im still on my first even though shes dumped alot out.

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A.D.

answers from Dallas on

The only thing I've been told is to cover your sand box so that cats don't use it as a litter box. Also, make sure your sand box has lots of drainage.

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A.T.

answers from Little Rock on

My husband works at Carroll Stone and Rock in Weatherford and thats were we got our sand and the price was much better than at the stores. We have one of those frog ones with the lid and it works great. If you are worried about ants they have these little plug things to put in the ground to keep them away.

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