Set Your DIY Spirit Free – Check How to Make Citronella Candles

Candles have come a long way since they first started being used. While initially used only as a source of light, today they are also being widely used as an item of home décor. Having candles in your home for a special occasion or even just to add to the aesthetic value is quite a popular trend these days. But what if they could serve one more purpose? What if, while making your home look elegant and stylish, you could drive away annoying mosquitoes and also leave a pleasant fragrance lilting around? Intrigued? Well, that’s citronella candles for you! Let us see what they are and how you can make them, in this Buzzle article.

What They Are

Simply put, they are candles that have a blend of citronella oil along with candle wax. Citronella oil comes from the citronella plant. As the name suggests, it is a citrus plant. The oil has a typical fragrance of lemon. This fragrance irritates mosquitoes. So, when the candles are burned, they give out the lemony scent which irritates the mosquitoes and, in turn, drives them away. Apart from being used to make mosquitoes go away, they can be used as a fitting table decoration too. This is because they are available in the same forms that other commercially available candles are available in. They can be pillared, tapered or even floating. They have a very pleasant fragrance and hence are quite popular for parties, especially outdoor ones, where there are more chances of mosquitoes. However, care must be taken that these candles are lit close to each other. If they are tapered, they will melt very soon. Hence, round or floating ones are a better option. Place a number of these candles together in one place if you wish to keep the mosquitoes away from there. Don’t keep them too far apart. Else the fragrance that emanates from them will get lost in the air and there will be no effect on the mosquitoes. Instead, if you place them together, the fragrance will remain in the area and keep the annoying pests at bay. Now, in the section below, let us see how you can make your own candles.

How to Make Them

You can take up making these lovely candles as a recycling project and use old candles and containers to make them. In order to make them, you need to follow the instructions given below. They are quite easy to follow and will definitely help you in keeping the mosquitoes away from your home. You’ll need the following items.

Old jars
Pot to fill water in
Container to melt the wax in
Candle wicks (which you can get at any arts and crafts store)
Old candles (you can use the wax from old candles) or wax that melts easily
Crayons (optional)
Citronella oil (you can get this from health stores)
Wax thermometer
Wooden stick or spoon for stirring
Hot glue
Stove and water

Now, after you have gathered all the equipment, let’s see the procedure for making them.

First, place the pot on the stove and fill it with some water. Now, place the other container (the one for the wax) in the pot. Turn on the heat.
While it heats, take your jars and the candle wicks. Using the hot glue, stick all the wicks on the inside of the base of the jars. Allow them to dry.
Check the temperature of the water. When it’s almost 284°F, you can add the wax to the container. As it melts, keep stirring it time and again using the wooden stick or spoon. You can add wax crayons at this point if you want to give a bit of color to the candles.
When the wax reaches a consistency of oil, you can add the citronella oil to it. One drop for each candle is the usual amount. So, according to the number of candles that you plan to make, add the drops of citronella oil.
Stir this for some more time and then, very carefully begin to pour the hot wax into the jars that have the wicks in them. Continue till an inch of the wick in each jar is left exposed.
Let the wax cool down. If you plan on gifting them, you can cover the jars, put them in gift boxes and gift wrap them.

It is better to keep children and pets away from citronella candles as they could develop allergic reactions to them. If you too get itchy or develop adverse reactions, consult a doctor and use gloves the next time you touch the candles.