All-Natural Mosquito Repellent Candles – A few simple ingredients, a mason jar and a few minutes of time is all you need to keep those pesky mosquitoes away.
Mosquitoes love me! Every year I get eaten alive by the little buggers. I’ve tried a bunch of different things to get them to leave me alone but I’m never thrilled with the results. Bug zappers only take care of some of the bugs, bug sprays feel nasty on your skin and candles stink to high heaven, plus I can’t stand the fact that they contain chemicals.
A few years ago I started a herb garden around my porch, and the funniest thing happened, no mosquitoes. Come to find out the basil I was growing was something that mosquitoes disliked the smell of. That’s when I came up with this simple DIY project.
MATERIAL LIST
wide mouth canning jars (pint)
orange, lime, lemon or grapefruit
citrus peeler
knife
basil leaves
2″ floating candle
water
Step 1: The Citrus
Peel an orange, you can eat the orange but save the peel. When peeling, I like to try to keep it all in one piece, it’s not only a challenge, but it looks nicer when place in the jar.
Mosquitoes really dislike the smell of citrus so it works great at keeping them away. You could use lemon, lime, or even grapefruit, I like to using oranges because of the bright color.
Step 2: The Basil
Pick several large basil, any type will do but cinnamon basil works. Arrange the leaves in the jar along with the orange peel.
Step 3: Filling the Jars
Fill the jar with water and add a floating candle.
Place the candles anywhere that the mosquitoes are bugging you, it can also be used indoors. Mosquitoes may not like the smell but you will.