Candle & Soap Making Candle & Soap Making Tutorials

Making Mosquito-Repelling Candles With Essential Oil Blends

Lit citronella candles in colored jars

 Electronza / Getty Images

Citronella essential oil is a great mosquito repellent in candles, but you don’t have settle for just that scent in your outdoor candles. There are a number of widely available essential oils that are also known to help repel mosquitoes including:

  • Citronella
  • Clove
  • Cedarwood
  • Lavender
  • Eucalyptus
  • Peppermint
  • Rosemary
  • Lemongrass
  • Rose Geranium

Other less widely available (or more expensive) mosquito-repelling essential oils include

Each oil has its own characteristics that blend differently with the citronella. Here are some blends to use as a starting point. If you don’t have a particular oil, feel free to substitute or adjust as you see fit. Each of the recipes has at least 1/3 citronella.

For tips on creating your own custom blends, check out Creating Your Own Custom EO Blends

Simple and Spicy

A simple natural blend with the wonderfully sweet and spicy notes of the clove oil.

  • 5 parts Citronella
  • 5 parts Lavender
  • 5 parts Clove

Bright and Energetic

Likewise a simple blend, but substituting the peppermint for the clove changes it into a bright, energetic, and sweet blend.

  • 5 parts Citronella
  • 5 parts Lavender
  • 5 parts Peppermint

Deep and Green

A more complex blend with mostly “green” scents including wonderfully dark and smoky cedarwood.

  • 10 parts Citronella
  • 10 parts Cedarwood
  • 5 parts Eucalyptus
  • 5 parts Rosemary

Sweet and Citrus

Just a little lemongrass added to the mix blends well with the citronella. The rosemary and cedarwood add complexity and a base note to the blend. Note: The lemongrass has a fair amount of the same constituents as the citronella oil, the amount of citronella is reduced.

  • 5 parts Citronella
  • 5 parts Lemongrass
  • 5 parts Lavender
  • 5 parts Rosemary
  • 5 parts Cedarwood

Lightly Floral

Here just a little bit of Egyptian Rose Geranium brings out the floral qualities of the lavender and balances out the citronella.

  • 5 parts Citronella
  • 5 parts Lavender
  • 5 parts Geranium
  • 5 parts Rosemary

Remember, these are just starting points for your own experimentation. Enjoy your citronella candles and the outdoors!