Bust the bugs!

with Citronella Container Candles...............bzzzzzz slap no more

With all this hot weather and the RAIN! bugs are numerous. Not sure about the rest of the world but I think all Australians need to know how to make a good citronella cloud to keep the bugs confused.

Citronella is known for its distinctive odour - it seems to make it difficult for pests to find a host, it hides us in an aromatic cloud! These may include mosquitoes, black flies, fleas and ticks. You would need to create a candle with a large melt pool to throw the scent sufficiently to keep the bugs away. That's why we have chosen large wicks for this project and low melt temperature wax.

There are specific videos and instructions on the site regarding melting safely and wicking so I will keep these instructions to a minimum.

Suitable containers: ceramics, tin buckets, glass, pottery

Collect your materials as in photo.

1 melt low melt temperature wax in a double saucepan along with your colour (your old collection of used candles could be used here)

2 dip a length of outdoor wick into the melting wax and allow to cool on newspaper

3 thread the wick through the large tab to the desired length, secure it by pushing down the pointed edges

4 when the wax is melted, add 20-30ml citronella candle fragrance (or citronella essential oil for natural waxes) for every kilogram of wax

5 pour the melted wax mixture into the container

6 as the edges of the wax begin to set, lower the tab end into the wax and push it into the 'muddy' wax on the bottom with a bamboo skewer. If you have been patient, there should be enough wax to hold it in place. Otherwise wait a little longer.

7 place a bamboo skewer either side of the wick and use a peg to hold it in the centre of the candle.

The candle will set over night and may need a top up to make a nice flat surface.

I do hope this project gets you back outdoors for these great Summer evenings, much nicer when the bugs don't bite!!