Craft Gossip

Independent craft blog since 2007

Fight mosquitoes with citronella candle options

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citronella garden gnomeI had a request inquiring where to find some citronella candles for mosquitoes a couple days ago so sharing some of my finds.

Here’s a citronella candle offering a new slant on the garden gnome. I’m not sure what’s up with the blue color but it’s different and can be found at Clean Air Gardening. I’m not a big fan of gnomes but my daughter gave me a tiny one and I didn’t have the heart to tell her so it’s sitting on my desk.

If you’re looking for a more traditional looking candle, check out these votives called Bug Away from 100Candles or citronella pillar candles from HGTV Market Place.

If you want to make your own citronella candle, check out CraftBits simple citronella candle project instructions.

Citronella candles do help if you sit close enough but it’s still best to have some back up protection.

Thanks to Cathy Wong, I found several other natural mosquito repellents you could try. Apparently, repellent containing 5% fennel oil is 84% more effective against mosquitoes after 90 minutes.

See Natural Mosquito Repellents for more ideas.

Have you read?

Book Review: The Festival of Lights

As if Diwali weren’t colorful and fun enough, The Festival of Lights: A Lift-the-flap Diwali Celebration by Namita Moolani Mehra, illustrated by Darshika Varm, makes it even more fun to read about with flaps and things to lift and pull to see more information or details in the illustrations. 

The book is a story about a family getting ready for Diwali and what happens on the different days of the five-day celebration. There’s cleaning, shopping, crafting, food preparation and getting the home altar ready for the big day. 

It covers decorating the outside of the house with rangoli, diyas and lanterns, buying sweets to share with family and friends, the sights and scents of the mandir (home temple), getting dressed up in new fancy clothes, the story of Diwali and celebrations with relatives.  

Flaps (there are more than 140 in all) give you vocabulary words for different foods and definitions, as well as fun things like what’s inside the shopping basket or where the cat is hanging out. They also help illuminate the story of Diwali, which is the triumph of good over evil as Lord Ram defeated the demon Ravana to save his wife, Sita. 

This pretty and colorful book helps kids understand what Diwali is and how it is celebrated, regardless of whether they practice it at home. This would be a nice book to keep in a classroom (it’s rated for kids ages 3-7) or to have at home to teach kids about Diwali even if it’s not something you celebrate. Where I live there are a lot of people from India so we are probably exposed to Diwali more than some other regions of America, but it’s a nice holiday to know about wherever you live. 

Combine with the book Diwali and check out some fun lantern crafts and printables for kids to round out your experience. 

About the book: 24 pages, hardcover, published 2025 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail prices $22.99.