Cover the sandbox (after you replace the sand)- any easy way would be with a tarp. I wouldn't add the sand to a garden bed and I wouldn't let my child play in the sandbox again until it is clean! Good luck.

With three kids, we had the same problem. We made a two part cover of plywood that they can move- works great!

Sprinkle your entire sand with white vinegar! Keeps out animals, ants, and is safe for kids!

The problem we had with a tarp is that it will sag in the middle with rain water. The best thing we've found is to overturn a rigid tot pool over the sand. (We just had a sand pile in the middle of a brick patio; not a sand box.) A board or something heavy on top to keep it down in the wind.

Another non-cover idea is to use cuttings from your rose bushes or blackberry brambles.

I agree about the white vinegar--it should keep the cats away.

For a cover, how about a piece of lattice, framed in with 1 x 2's and hinged on one side. You could even attach a counter-weight to make it easy to open.

Cover should be porous in order to prevent stagnant ponding water on top and to keep the inside from getting moldy. I bought the fancy mesh cover from ChildLife/Walpole and built the sandbox to it's dimensions. Best of both worlds - good technology and lower cost. The lattice suggestion might work too - same idea except leaves will get in in the fall.

Definately dump the sand and get new. Little tikes makes several sandboxes that comes with a lid. When my youngest son was 2 I had a similar problem, but with his kiddie pool and our ducks pooping init (yuck) SO i bought a little tikes sandbox, which we converted into a pool. It worked great and kept the water warmer.

As for the flower beds and the cats try crushed up moth balls. They hate the smell. It worked for me! Good luck!

Vividly remember multiple dreaded trips to a doctors office to have my wrists frozen to kill the pin or ring worms from cats using my sandbox.

Turn that sand box into a sq/ft garden and let them help plant seeds & pull weeds.

Instead of sand, use gravel. Use the size up fron pea gravel. The kids can still dig, fill buckets and have fun, and the cats aren't interested in it. We have 4 kids and 2 cats and are very happy with the gravel.

I've spotted ants in my grandson's sand box. Would sprinkling White Vinegar get rid of the ants? Or must I get rid of the sand and start all over again...

Thank you

They showed how to build a sandbox with a plywood lid on a gardening show on tv here. They made a point of saying use marine grade ply.
DH had built an enormous sandbox so that wasn't practical for us so we used a tarp. Problematic, as has been mentioned already.
For various reasons don't use mothballs.
I like the gravel idea.
By the way, many years ago when I was first pregnant and buying every parenting magazine I could, I read a warning in an American magazine that people constructing sandboxes should make sure they get a type of sand that doesn't contain asbestos. It was a long time ago so maybe the problem has long since been fixed.

Cut a tarp to fit. Or a piece of that bubble pack looking swimming pool cover. So it fits inside flat, water can run to the edge.

Wieght it with a few stones on the corners. That will keep most sand in the middle dry.

If too dry, moisten it.

We had a great sandbox with a lid that we bought at ToysRUs - $60, but when I started pricing lumber etc. plus all the work, it seemed worth it. We used it for 4 years with no problems. Big enough for at least 2 kids. Kept out all the local cats etc. Only reason we don't have it now is that we moved, but I'm thinking about buying it again here. It also is in a nice neutral light brown color so it blends into nicely with the garden.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2336213&cp=2255969.2257607&parentPage=family

Hi, I just bought some new sand for my daughter's sandbox and didn't find out until I was home that 2 of the bags are wet and has what appears to be some type of mold. Is there a way to salvage it? I don't want to have to take them back. They each weigh 50lbs.
Juanita

We do not have a sand box anymore specifically because of the animal issues, we not only had cats using it we also had raccoons. It was just too disgusting for me to bare anymore. We had tried tarps and the critters still manage to get in even after we added gromets and hooks to seal it shut. Then we moved on to bifold doors and we added mildew/moss to the mix and the sand took forever to dry out after rain.

Finally we just gave up and put chunky mulch down under the jungle gym. The kids still liked it because they could fill buckets and trucks and dump them out again! Oh, and I have the added benefit of no more sand being tracked in the house and in the kids clothing! Beware of the occasional splinter with finer mulches.

I have eight cats. I so pity my neighbors that I offered the one without dogs (which are ideal cat-repellants :-)) to buy him an air-gun (harmless but they'd hate it and shoots from about 20' away) to use on them. Those big powerful squirt guns are good too. Obviously these require you be there, though. He bought a dog instead. He had indoor yappy dogs but now he has a medium dog in back.

I try to keep them inside but until my ex returns and takes his 4 (which got added to my 4 when he temporarily returned), it's not very practical doing that either, given the nature of cats, and that they will tear up wood in the house of doors/frames to get out if they really want out (the more there are, the more they act like a wild pride, rather than civilized tame). I observe this with them:

1 - they like sand.
2 - they like wood mulch.
3 - they don't like hard mulches like gravel. They might lay in it sometimes but they don't generally poop in it.
4 - they love dirt.
5 - they love plants.
6 - hot pepper as some recommend can cause cats to claw their own eyes out scratching. Have mercy. Don't do it. Besides, that will not really keep cats from your garden. It will merely cause them to mutilate themselves IN your garden.
7 - they don't like sudden motion things. small items that move with wind for example.
8 - they don't like water. motion-sensor sprinklers for example.
9 - they do love catnip. Plant some elsewhere where it's shady and comfy and they might hang out there instead.
10 - cocoa hull mulch is poisonous to cats and dogs and some other animals, fyi. Technically you can use it, since it's not your cat, and it's less horrifying than the pepper option (and one can hope a given cat doesn't feel like eating it) but not very nice. Aside from which you know you'd have those things mixed in your soil forever, it's like using rock in landscape and then you end up mowing lawn with the junk mixed in and hitting the blades forever.

If you spring mulch with black landscaper mat, and plant your plants in holes in that, then there isn't anything for them to dig in really, and it's a nice weed block too.

Best,
PJ

Make a mesh cover out of landscape fabric (weed barrier stuff). Sew together as many strips as you need to cover the width of the sandbox. (A simple basting stitch is fine, no need to get fancy.)

You can just drape the cover over the sandbox and weight the corners down with rocks, patio blocks, etc.

If you want something "neater" looking than just draped mesh with rocks, you can "hem" two opposite ends of the cover and thread a bungee cord through each hem. Screw a cup hook or eyelet into the outside of each corner, and you can hook the cover on/off with the bungee cords.

The mesh will keep out animals, leaves, acorns, and those annoying "helicopter" seeds. Rainwater will still get in, but so will air to dry it out.

Get a roll of screen from a hardware store and staple it to one side of the sandbox. (Ours is a playscape) Attach a thin piece of wood such as a broomstick to the opposite side with staples and hook it on the outside of the outer posts or hook with a screen door latch. You just have to remove toys for it to stretch over the sand each time. The vinegar would also discourage kitty from getting around it in case the kids leave the lid off.

We have a 9'x9' sandbox built on a cement slab so for our cover we bought INDUSTRIAL strength rolls of velcro and stapled it all along the outer edge of the box. Then bought an oversized tarp and attached the velcro to that. It seals the ENTIRE box off and doesn't allow any kind of pet to squeeze through anywhere! Put a large ball in the middle when tarping for the winter and it allows a downpour :) good luck!

That's a great idea!