Making Citronella Lanterns

Mosquitoes are a nasty part of outdoor activities in the summer time, especially when the weather is humid. Dousing yourself in bug repellent is not the way you were probably wanting to spend your evening. You can keep the mosquitoes away with enough citronella torches or candles, but they are expensive, costing over $100 to get enough to keep the bugs away and lasting about a week. Well you can get citronella relief by constructing your own decorative citronella lanterns that will keep the bugs away all summer, and create conversations about your innovative skills.

Lantern Construction Ideas

Table Top

Constructing a few lanterns should not cost more than $50 worth of material, including the citronella. Take a soda can and remove the tab. Wash the can out a bit with some water. Take a lantern wick and insert it into the can, making sure it is long enough to stick out of the can. Fill the can up with citronella oil and set the can into colored bowl. Light the wick and watch the mosquitoes scatter. This type of home made citronella lantern is for table tops and can be incorporated as a center piece.

Hanging

Take a few 6 to 10 inch pieces of 3/4 inch copper pipe and solder end caps on one side of them. Tack solder the pipes together in groupings of threes always making sure that one pipe is a few inches taller than the shortest pipe. You can use epoxy to substitute for the tack soldering. Drill a hole through the longest pipe and run a piece of fishing line through it, making a basic loop. Make sure that the loop is about 6 inches from the top of the shortest pipe. Hang the copper pipe lanterns from plant hangers on the side of the house or Shepard’s hooks out in the yard or around the patio. Fill the shortest pipe with citronella, stick a wick in and light it up. The copper pipes will patina giving the copper pipe lanterns an old fashioned look.

Torch Look

Take a 2×2 inch treated piece of lumber about 6 feet tall, and taper one end with a skill saw. Stain the piece of lumber a dark color to give it some character. Cut a small 4×4 section about 2 inches thick, and screw it in the center to the top of the 2×2. Stick the torch pole into the ground and place a citronella filled can with a wick in it on the 4×4 platform. Take aluminum coil stock (roll of aluminum flashing) and cut the aluminum with a pair of tin snips, making sure that the cut is straight. Wrap the aluminum around the 4×4 platform, but keep the aluminum so it stay in a cylindrical shape. Attach the overlapped seams of the aluminum flashing with a screw and secure the over lap at the top and bottom of the flashing lap with metal screws as well. If you want the look of copper, you can use copper coil stock instead of aluminum.

These are some money saving, unique ideas that will give your outdoor area some deserved relief from the mosquitoes, along with some cool lighting for you and your guests.