Ditch The Candles: There's A Cuter Way To Repel Mosquitoes From Your Garden

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There is nothing more irritating than working in the garden on a warm summer's afternoon or in the early evening and being harassed by mosquitoes. By the time you've realized that these tiny flying menaces have come out to feed, you're probably already scratching a bug bite. Although there are a few clever ways to keep mosquitoes away from your yard, citronella candles are one of the most popular natural repellents. However, keeping a lit candle on your person as you complete garden chores is far from practical, especially if there's a bit of a breeze. Instead, why not follow Instagrammer theheartlandgardener's example and pop a lit citronella incense stick into an old copper kettle.

While a rustic kettle turned citronella stick holder is most definitely one of the cutest ways to repel mosquitoes, it's also quite a practical solution. After all, the kitchen fixture comes with a built-in carry handle! New copper kettles are not cheap, so if you don't already have one at home, it's better to look for a secondhand one at thrift stores or on reseller sites like eBay or Etsy. While copper is extremely pretty, you can use a kettle made from any other (likely more affordable) metal — for example, a Ywjlqh Gold Aluminum Water Kettle costs about $9. The other things you'll need are some Murphy's Naturals Citronella Incense Sticks. If you're not overly fond of the scent of citronella, fight off mosquitoes naturally with the help of refreshing, natural smells like lavender or lemon eucalyptus instead.

This is one of the easiest practical backyard decor DIYs ever. Simply take the lid off the kettle and place a bundle of citronella incense sticks — you can snag these spring gardening essentials from your local Dollar Tree, by the way — inside. These are your backup sticks. Then, when you need to repel mosquitoes, take a stick from the bundle, hold a match or lighter to the end until it's smoking, and slot it into the spout. How clever is that? For heavy-duty protection, place two or three lit sticks into the spout.

You can hang the kettle by its handle pretty much anywhere you need it. Bonus: It keeps the burning stick safely out of reach of small children and pets. Invest in a sturdy metal S-hook so that you can hang it from tree branches, fences, and trellises around your yard. Or place it on the ground beside you when you're weeding garden beds. When you're done with your chores, pop it on your patio table and put your feet up to enjoy a cool drink and some mosquito-free downtime.

If you could only manage to find a crusty old aluminum kettle that looks worse for wear, paint it with some Rust-Oleum High-Heat Enamel Spray Paint in Bar-B-Que Black and stencil on some floral designs or white polka dots. Ideally, before painting, you would clean and sand the kettle, then apply a primer to the surface for a lasting finish. If you're really having trouble finding a suitable metal kettle, a ceramic teapot could work just as well. They're abundant in thrift stores.