DIY Citronella Candles with Essential Oils

If you plan to do any outdoor picnics, fun days playing in the yard, or camping this summer, our DIY Citronella Candles with Essential Oils are going to become a life saver!  

This easy to follow tutorial makes them a great choice for a fun afternoon project that is also useful. A fun day spent outdoors quickly becomes unpleasant when you are being attacked by mosquitos and no-see-ums!  

Whip up a few of these Citronella candles for a fun day without the pesky bugs! Don't forget to check out 100+ ways to use essential oils around the house while you are here!

When the weather starts getting warmer outside, bugs and insects appear. If you prefer to use more natural products, this can mean testing out different brands of bug spray to see which actually work (pretty sure two that I tried this spring were actually attractants but man did they smell so good!) and trying not to kill your budget with the expensive price tags that seem to come with anything that isn't bad for you.  

One mosquito can wreak havoc on an otherwise fun day at the park, especially if you are like me & welt up like crazy!  Using our citronella candles with essential oils is an excellent method of keeping them at bay when you are stationary.

If you are out and about, I highly recommend this Bug Repellant Spray I found at our local Hy-Vee. I found a similar one on Amazon, if you don't have Hy-Vee in your area and want to try it out. It's been a lifesaver so far this summer with all the time at the park with the boys and now lives in my purse so I can't accidentally lose it (because I would cry without it).

DIY Citronella Candles with Essential Oils

What You Need for DIY Citronella Candles

• 2 cups Soy Wax Flakes
• 1 candle wick with weighted bottom
• 10-15 drops citronella essential oil
• Yellow or orange crayons (optional)
• Wood stick or pencil
• Small glass jar or container of choice (should be glass or metal for safety)

How to Make Homemade Citronella Candles 

1. Heat your soy wax flakes, stirring to prevent sticking & encourage even melting.
2. Add your citronella essential oil.
3. Color your wax, using a crayon in whatever color you choose. We used orange here.
4. Prepare your wick by wrapping around a pencil & sitting across the top of your jar/container.
5. Pour melted wax into your container, keeping the wick centered.
6. Let your wax harden, without poking at it (this is the hardest part!)
7. After your candle has hardened, trim your wick.
8. Light and enjoy!

Citronella Candle Uses:

• Burn when outdoors on picnic tables or porches to help repel insects
• Burn indoors for a pleasant scent, and also to repel insects when windows are opened.
• Gift it to friends and family who are outdoorsmen or who camp frequently.

As you can see, these are fairly easy to make on your own.  Citronella candles are a great addition to your camping kit for the summer.  You can also make them have on your porch for those nice cool summer evenings you want to sit outside while the kids play.  

Having something on hand that helps repel insects is a must.  Nobody likes having itching wounds, and this helps tremendously toward prevention.

Make sure you keep the hot liquid and glass away from children when creating these DIY citronella candles with essential oils.  Older kids may help with the process, but you want to be careful so nobody drops a glass jar or pours hot wax on their hands or body.  

Making these using citronella essential oils is a great easy way to create a multi-purpose soy wax candle this summer.

More DIY Projects:

• Kids Craft Ideas for DIY Seed Shakers
• DIY Easy Gnat Catcher
• Homemade Cleaners All Purpose Spray
• Cranberry Orange Homemade Sugar Scrub
• Homemade Muscle Rub With Essential Oils For Muscle Pain

Subscribe below to snag this free printable with some of my favorite homemade cleaning recipes!

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