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These DIY mosquito repelling candles are the perfect summer project!
If you are dining outside, having a party, or just want to read a book on the porch…these little candles are so great to have by you!
They are also really cute, so they make a wonderful addition to your outdoor space.
You can join us on Instagram for a fun video today too. Here is how to make them.
DIY Mosquito Repelling Candles For Outside
While we use simple floating candles for this recipe, making all types of candles at home is a fun project to tackle when you have the time.
Fun fact, I made these candles about six years ago, but I never shared them on the blog! I saw them on a Food Network show, and thought that was such a good idea. I wasn’t sure if people would want to see anything like this way back then. Anyways, I was reminded of them again when we were on vacation. I saw a restaurant had some floating candles. I remembered this DIY and decided to finally share it with you.
Ingredients Needed for DIY Mosquito Repelling Candles:
- Floating Candles (I am using 2 inch)
- Glass Jars (I am using 8 oz)
- 25-30 drops Citronella Essential Oil per jar (I like Gya Labs)
- Fresh Lemon Slices
- Natural Food Coloring (optional)
- Fresh Lemongrass, Rosemary, or Basil (optional)
- Water to Fill Jars
Directions:
- Add lemons slice to your jar. I do about 3-4 slices in an 8 oz jar.
- If you would like, add in some fresh lemongrass, rosemary, and basil. A little of each for looks and added repellent. For this recipe, I only used lemon which works great too.
- Next, fill in with water. Fill so that there is space at the top for a floating candle.
- Add in the citronella oil to the top.
- You can add some food coloring on the top of these for aesthetics. I am using natural Lemon food coloring to get that pretty yellow look.
- Place the floating candle on top.
- Light the candles and place them around your table.
Variations for homemade mosquito repelling candles:
If you want large candles, you can use a 16 oz jar and 3 inch floating candles. You can really play around with this too. Use a large bowl and add 3 or 4 floating candles. Whatever look you are going for, you can easily create candles to go with it! For this project, I wanted cute little 8 oz jars for this tray.
The Science Behind These DIY Mosquito Repelling Candles
The science is always the key to how all these DIY Projects work on Chemistry Cachet. And this is very simple science, but it works great!
Citronella Essential Oil
The first and most important ingredient in this solution is the citronella essential oil. Citronella is one of these most common and most successful ingredient to repel insects especially mosquitoes! Citronella oil is made from distillation of an Asian grass plant. The EPA even recognizes citronella oil as a bio pesticide or biochemical which means it is a non-toxic mode of insect repellent. Since they formally recognize it, this means it has proven successful in repelling insects!
Just a quick tip, don’t use expensive citronella essential oil in this recipe. It is a waste of money, just stick to something affordable. My favorite options I buy on Amazon are Gya Labs brand and Now Brand. These are cheaper, but also work great!
Fresh Lemon Slices
Lemon is just an all around fantastic addition to anything, but it is especially great for insect repelling. When you slice the lemon and place it in the jar, the scent of lemon will be all around that area. For this recipe, they are also added for aesthetic purposes. If you choose, adding in fresh rosemary, basil, or lemon grass will just enhance the repelling aspect! I know many people who spray lemon juice on tables and outside areas to further ward of mosquitoes and flies too!
Floating Candles
The addition of floating candles is more of a physics aspect than a chemistry one, but science either way 🙂 The heat of candles will waft the smell of the oil and lemon. Wafting is a term we used in chemistry labs and it means to carry along gently as through the air. I have found the addition of candles in this solution makes it work further away from the area the jar is sitting. Please note that this solution works great even without the candles! But the candles do help it project smell further, plus look pretty.
Natural Food Coloring
The food coloring addition does a few things. First, it just makes everything look pretty! Second, these types of colors repel mosquitoes too. They are more likely to stay away from lighter colors like this because they don’t retain heat like dark blues, blacks, or browns. This is especially true with clothing, but also applies to other things. You can leave these just water without food coloring, and it will work just fine too! The food coloring is an optional ingredient for this reason 🙂
I hoped you enjoy this fun summer themed recipe today!
Don’t forget to join us on Instagram for more summer tips, videos, and pictures!
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Alexis is an investigative chemist sharing her expertise in cleaning, skincare, gardening, and home hacks. She personally tests out products like the best skincare products or home products then shares not only the science behind how it works, but also her personal results. She is the mom of two living in Texas with her husband. Find her on Instagram for fantastic videos, tips, and behind the scenes.
This is cool,thanks
Glad you enjoyed it!
Can you suggest anything that would repel Chiggers? I get eaten alive
Chiggers are tough because they live in the soil. We have some tips for fleas that also help deter chiggers from the yard.
To make the infused alcohol, how long does the lemon and orange rinds need to stay in the alcohol? Also is it better to use distilled water when making the all purpose cleaner?
Thanks,
June
You don’t need to use distilled water for any of our cleaners. For the lemon infused rubbing alcohol, they need to infuse for 2 weeks then you can remove the rinds. Here is the blog post for the lemon infused rubbing alcohol.