How to Keep Bugs Away From a Beanbag

The comfortable beanbag chair is popular with children.

A beanbag chair consists of microfiber filled with either synthetic polystyrene or a mixture of dried bean varieties. These chairs are popular in children's rooms as well as in video gaming areas. If your bag contains polystyrene, you need not worry about bug infestation. However, if there are dried beans in your beanbag, keep in mind that the porous microfiber sack is not bug-proof. Without proper treatment, the beanbag is likely is likely to become infested with small bugs called weevils.

Things You'll Need

• Pair of scissors
• 8 to 10 dried bay leaves, cut in half
• 1 sewing needle
• 2 feet of sewing thread, any color
• Iron-on clothing patch, 3 inches in diameter

Instructions

1. Puncture the beanbag on the bottom with scissors and make a 1-inch incision. Keep the bag well-supported on a bed or desk to prevent the incision from causing a bigger tear in the bag.

2. 

   Dried bay leaves prevent investation by repelling weevils.

   Push 8 to 10 halved dried bay leaves through the incision. Make sure that none fall out.

3. Thread the needle and bring both ends of the thread together. Tie these in a rough knot that is thick enough not to pass through the microfiber.

4. Pierce the microfiber at one end of the incision, passing the thread through the bag, and piercing the other side of the incision to pull the threaded needle up through this other side of the incision.

5. 

   Make a zig-zag with your stictches that looks like this.

   Repeat this stich in a zig-zag pattern that moves up through the end of the incision. Repeat these stitches along the length of the incision three more times to reinforce the thread.

6. Iron the sticky side of the iron-on clothing patch, and then press it down on the beanbag to cover the stitches. This reinforces the stitches even more.

7. Shake the beanbag well to distribute the pieces of bay leaf evenly.

Tips & Warnings

• There is no need to be neat with the threading and stitches, as you cover them with the patch. The patch is not visible because it goes on the bottom of the beanbag.

• Bay leaves lose their flavoring capacity in foods after only a few months, but they repel insects for longer. Plan on replacing the beanbag chair every couple years and repeating this process.

• If you end up with a weevil infestation, you will have to start over. The easiest solution is to replace the beanbag and follow these instructions from the beginning. Alternately, you can empty the beanbag of its contents and dispose of them. Wash the sack on a delicate cycle in hot water and with non-staining bleach. Fill with new filling before stitching it back up.

• Though many people use bay leaves to flavor food, humans cannot eat them directly because they are toxic. Do not allow a child under 5 years old to use the beanbag, as she may tear it open and try to ingest the leaves. Keep dogs and cats away from beanbag chairs, too.

References

• Australian Competition and Consumer Commission; Bean Bag Product Information: Standard Guide
• "American Chronicle"; Where to Buy Bean Bags; Patrick Johnson
• Simple Pest Control: Weevil Control
• The Kitchn: How to Prevent and Get Rid of Grain Weevils
• Fine Cooking; The Flour Weevil; Brian Geiger

Resources

• Budget 101: Make Your Own Bean Bag Chairs
• Sewing.org: Bean Bag Chair
• "The Guardian"; How to Bag a Beanbag Chair; Sally Cameron Griffiths; June 2009