It’s that time again.😫 Time for the blood-sucking mosquitoes 🦟 to come out of hiding.
And if you’re Type O🩸like me, you’re a delicious treat (really, more like an all-you-can-eat buffet).
If you want a natural way of fending them off, make your own citronella candles! This way you know what wax (I only use coconut soy) and oil are being used. Making your own also allows you to customize the strength of the scent and the size of the containers to your preference.👍
Happy making / shielding!
Creating Your Own Citronella Candles at Home
1. Choose Your Vessel & Add Wick Stickers + Wicks + Wick Holders
This can be anything (burn-proof) you want it to be. Fun! I chose small glass orb votives to place multiple candles around the backyard for ambiance. Also, I don't want to look at large holders/buckets collecting bugs/debris while melting under the Texas sun. I can make more as needed.
2. Measure Out Your Wax and Heat
Use a kitchen scale to get the quantity of wax you need for your vessels. These glass holders are approximately 3.3 oz, so for 6 holders, I would need 19.8 oz of wax (3.3 x 6 = 19.8).
Heat the wax to 185º (or 184º 😏) and let it cool to the recommended temperature of your particular wax.
3. Add Citronella Oil
Add the amount of oil to your preference (how strong you would like it) based on the guidelines of your particular wax, these guidelines should also tell you the optimal temperature for adding fragrance. If not, use the Googler and trial and error. Wax can be tricky at times.
The type of wax I use can hold a fragrance oil up to 12%, that's entirely too strong in my opinion and citronella oil is already very strong, so I went with a 9% fragrance load. Take the volume we calculated above - 19.8 oz and multiply it by 9% - 19.8 x .09 =1.782. You can round up or down, but use fluid ounces for your fragrances. Stir for 2 minutes.
4. Pour Your Brew
Pour your wax into your chosen receptacles and let set for at least 2 hours, remove the wick holders and snip candle wicks to about a 1/4". The candles will need to cure for no fewer than 7 days, optimally they will cure for 2 weeks. Curing allows time for the wax to harden which helps the wick perform better and the fragrance molecules to dissipate giving a better hot throw (stronger scent).
And there you go, you just made a mosquito invisible barrier! How do you like that magic?
Checklist for creating your citronella candles at home:
Wax
Digital Scale
Wax-melting tin
Digital thermometer
Candle holders
Wick stickers
Wicks
Wick securers
Fragrance oil
Wick trimmers
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