Mosquito Candles in Vintage Planters

Let’s face it, summer is NOT my favorite season in the South. Between a constant case of “humidity hair” to a melted make-up sweaty glow, it just leaves much to be desired. But, I still love sitting out back and listening to the summer yard sounds as the sun goes down. So, I desperately needed to make some mosquito candles that would keep the bugs away.

And I decided that vintage planters and vases from the thrift store would be PERFECT for this upcycling idea.

To make these mosquito repellent candles, I also purchased some local beeswax from a honey shop in town. It was raw and unfiltered, but I knew I could clean it up before making a few DIY beeswax candles!

With vintage planters and local beeswax in hand, I gathered a few more items and was ready to make some mosquito candles!

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DIY Beeswax Candles for Mosquito Candles

Because it was raw wax, I needed to filter it before making my candles. Raw beeswax is filled with…well, any number of things…including bee parts.

Not pretty in a candle!

So, to filter the wax, I melted it down (keep reading to find out my melting method), and poured it through clean rags/t-shirts.

I didn’t need fancy molds, so I simply used a recyclable aluminum pan from the grocery store.

If you don’t have a local supplier that has beeswax for sale, you could use this cosmetic-grade beeswax instead. And if you buy it pre-filtered, then you won’t have to worry about the step I just talked about!

Next, I also gathered a roll of wick and some wick clips. Essential tools for candle making!

First, I threaded wick into each clip, pinched the end with pliers, and used a bead of glue to hold the clip in place at the bottom of the vintage planters.

To keep the wicks in place (straight and up), I sandwiched them between coffee stirrers and taped the stirrer ends together.

And because the vintage planters aren’t perfectly smooth/even, I then taped the stirrers to the edges to keep them from sliding off.

Making the Mosquito Candles with Citronella Oil

Next, it was time to melt the beeswax for my mosquito candles!

To do so, I used a very simple double boiler using a clean aluminum can. I filled a sauce pan with an inch of water and turned the burner to high.

Then, I placed the filtered beeswax in the can, which I set down in the water.

**Note/hint: Keep a measuring cup of water nearby to add periodically to the pan. The shallow amount of boiling water (which is all you can have at a time to keep the can from floating/tipping over) will try and boil away on you! So add water periodically to keep a constant depth.**

Once the wax melted, I gathered up the oils I would use: citronella essential oil and tea tree essential oil.

After the filtered beeswax had melted, I removed the can from the double-boiler (wearing an oven mitt!); added many, many drops of tea tree and citronella oils; and once I could really catch the aroma of the oils in the wax, I stopped and carefully poured the wax into each of the vintage planters.

Once the oils were swirled into the melted beeswax, I placed the mosquito candles on a cooling rack and let them sit for a few hours.

Finally, after a few hours of cooling/hardening, I snipped off the wick just beneath the coffee stirrers.

Mosquito Candles with Local Beeswax in Vintage Planters

And just like that, the mosquito candles with local beeswax were done! Aren’t those vintage planters just PERFECT to hold a candle?

And you could totally make aroma candles that weren’t citronella based using this same method and idea!

But for now, I’ll keep mine as mosquito candles that I can use and re-fill (if needed) all summer long. Functional AND decorative outdoor candles, how great is that?

I’ve also made candles in other thrift store finds, as well. You wouldn’t BELIEVE how I was able to clean up this brass bowl before upcycling it into a boho candle.

And for even more summer DIY ideas, this collection is chock full of inspiration!

Craft on!

S

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