It’s a warm, humid summer night sitting on the deck chatting with my husband. The sun has set and the lightning bugs are out in their full luminescence. The crickets are chirping, the frogs are croaking and I am GETTING EATEN ALIVE! {If only they sucked fat instead of blood.}
Ever notice how mosquitoes can ruin a perfectly good evening?
Not to mention they are tiny vectors of disease (Malaria, West Nile Virus, Yellow Fever, Dengue Fever) but I digress…
To my dismay, those store bought citronella candles do NOT seem to work. The scientist in me decided to research this annoying conundrum and I found the problem! They use citronella scented oil, not citronella essential oil. (Here is the company I use for essential oils!) Throw out your tiki torch oil and candles and make your own DIY Citronella Candles!
Wanna make your own DIY Citronella Candles?
Mason Jars
Soy candle wax
Citronella essential oil
Candle wick
Hot glue gun
Microwave safe container
Fill your microwave safe container half way.
Patience is a virtue but it is not one of my stronger traits. Therefore, I decided to microwave the wax instead of using the stove.
Depending on your microwave, melt the wax in 30 – 60 second intervals. It took about three minutes to melt the wax down.
Now your wax should be melted. Carefully, remove the bowl from the microwave. The wax will look like olive oil.
Allow to cool and the wax to solidify. It took about two hours.
Once the wax is cool, cut your wick to size.
They turned out wonderful! They smell really good and they actually work! Sat outside taking pictures for 30 minutes last night and did not get a single mosquito bite!