Being consistent in cleaning playsets is an excellent way to ensure bugs do not nest. Other ways include trimming nearby bushes, replacing surfacing materials regularly, keeping the yard clean, putting a net canopy over the playset, and inspecting the playset frequently. Noticing cracks or signs of bugs in the early stages can go a long way in preventing an infestation.
Did you know that playsets can attract bugs to nest and breed in or around them? Playsets, especially wood ones, can become home to bees, wasps, spiders, and even mosquitoes.
Parents must find chemical-free ways to keep bugs off playsets.
Stings from bugs can cause a child to cry or feel unwell for a few days. However, spraying bug spray on your little one’s playset can be harmful to the child in the long run.
Taking good care of an outdoor playset reduces the odds of insects nesting at the place where your child plays. In the end, it is a parent’s responsibility to keep a child away from bugs at all times.
Top Methods to Keep Bugs off a Playground Playset
You can implement several activities around your backyard to ensure that there are no bugs around your child’s playset. All the list methods are DIY, and you can repeat the processes every few weeks to ensure nothing is nesting around the play area.
If you are specifically looking to keep bees away please check this out.
Moreover, some of the list methods won’t cost anything other than the time a parent spends implementing it.
Clean a Playset
Kids can spread dirt all over a playset whenever they are playing outdoors. Dirt-like food particles attract insects that are scavenging for food around your home.
Accumulation of food particles around a playset encourages insects to burrow in the play area and start breeding there.
It would be best if you hosed down a playset as frequently as possible to remove any dirt or food particles that a child may leave when having fun. Also, take the time to clean any leaves or debris accumulated in the play area.
Double your cleaning efforts when trees are losing leaves to ensure that the playset is always clean.
Maintain Your Lawn
A poorly maintained lawn will attract insects to create nests and begin breeding near a playset. Parents must ensure that the lawn is always well-trimmed at all times.
You also have to get rid of any bushes that may have popped up on your lawn. Parents living in areas prone to insects like ants may want to find a pest control company to do annual inspections and ensure there aren’t any colonies on the property.
Ants living on the property can migrate onto a playground playset, especially a wooden one. You should remove other stuff that may attract insects, like piles of grass or leaves that insects will find food and want to stick around on your compound.
Trim Branches Around a Playset
Trees are home to spiders, and having branches hanging over a playground playset can facilitate the migration of spiders to your little one’s play area. It is imperative for parents to monitor trees’ growth around the playground and ensure that branches are trimmed on time.
Moreover, you need to check your compound to ensure that the playset is not close to trees that attract spiders to nest in them.
Move a Playset Often
Most parents tend to place a playset on a playground and forget all about it. However, that is a bad thing because insects can nest in the ground around the playset without the parents noticing.
Many breeds of ants tend to make anthills beneath the surface of the earth, and they can destroy a wooden playset from the inside out.
Moving a playset around will keep bugs off a playset and reveal if any bugs live under the playset. It would help if you moved a playground playset a few inches every 3-4 weeks to see underneath.
If you can move the playset, ensure that the surrounding areas are clean and do a thorough inspection for signs of bugs.
Cover A Playground Playset with Fine Net
A fine net is efficient in keeping flying bugs out of the playset. Bugs like mosquitoes, wasps, and bees can interrupt the good times kids are having when outdoors.
There are seasons when small flying bugs are more in the air.
You can cover a playset with a fine net to keep your child protected at all times. Kids can play make-believe with the net and pretend that it is an invisibility cloak that keeps the enemy from seeing them.
Ensures there is a clear entryway into the play area when you add a net. Teach your kids how to enter and exit the net appropriately to avoid leaving an open area where the bugs can gain entry into the net.
Avoid Wood Mulch
Wood mulch is an affordable and readily available material that parents place under playsets to break a fall if a child slips. However, wood mulch is a suitable food source for many bugs, and it attracts a lot of them onto a playset.
Moreover, rodents tend to use wood mulch as their personal litter box because it is convenient. You can opt for gravel, sand, or poured-in rubber as an alternative for wood mulch.
It is better to pay more for materials under the playset and keep it in mint condition than buy cheap materials that attract bugs to destroy the set.
Apply A Seal to Wood Frequently
Wooden playsets are aesthetically appealing, sturdy, and affordable for many parents. However, wood tends to attract many bugs because it is a source of food.
Applying a sealing coat to wood keeps it safe from bugs. The seal tends to peel off over time because of the harsh weather that playset experiences throughout the year.
Parents need to inspect a set and reapply the seal to keep bugs off the playground playset. The idea is to apply a fresh seal coat when you notice that the seat is beginning to peel.
Waiting for too long after you notice the seal’s deterioration can allow bugs to infest the wood.
Use Bug Spray
Using bug spray should be the last option because you shouldn’t be spraying harsh chemicals on surfaces where kids spend a lot of time playing. Parents should never expose kids to harmful chemicals.
Pick a day that your child won’t be on the playground to use bug spray on a playset to keep bugs off playground sets.
Wear protective gear and wash your hands after handling the spray. Ensure you try out the other methods before opting to use bug spray to keep bugs off playground playsets.
What Happens When Bugs Infest a Playground Playset?
The first thing you need to do when you notice that your child’s playset or playground has a bug infestation is to ensure that your child stays away from the area. You can attempt to remove the bugs as a DIY or opt to find a pest control expert to do it.
Pest control experts have a better chance of terminating the bugs permanently. You will have to check the integrity of the playset after the extermination to ensure it is sound.
Also, you need to clean it and apply some preventive measures to ensure that bugs stay away from the playground. In some cases, the damage is permanent, and you may have to replace the whole set for the safety of the children who use it.
Conclusion
Playsets are exquisite playground equipment that can engage kids for hours. They stay outdoors, and they are prone to attacks from bugs.
This article gives activities that parents should do to keep bugs off from playground playsets. It is essential to note that most bugs are attracted to dirt and unkempt areas.
Maintaining high levels of hygiene on the playground and the surrounding areas greatly reduces the possibility of having bugs around.
Also, you need to remove stuff that attracts bugs like wood mulch, leaves, and debris around and on the playground. Avoid using bug sprays unless it is the only option that you have left.
There are pest control sprays that claim to be environmental and kid-friendly, but the best option is to avoid exposing a child to chemicals. Overall, prevention measures are simple to implement to keep bugs off playground playsets.
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