Top 10 Citronella Candles for a Buzzing, Bug-Free Yard
There's no guarantee that mosquitoes will stay away for good, but these can help repel them.

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Nothing puts a damper on outdoor fun like the bothersome buzz of mosquitoes. Thankfully, there are a few easy steps you can take to keep the little buggers away. First, assess your yard and get rid of any standing water (that's where mosquitoes lay their eggs). Second, enlist the gentle breeze of an oscillating fan to make it difficult for the insects to come in for a landing. Last but not least, spark a few of these citronella candles to keep the atmosphere safer, yet still celebratory. Citronella helps to mask scents that are attractive to mosquitoes, so they can be useful to burn during an outdoor dinner.
Citronella products come in many forms, but we like candles for the double duty they pull, creating a festive mood while they chase away bugs. We chose the following products based on their majority of positive reviews and their varying formats for large- and small-scale enjoyment. Read on for our top picks.
Melanie Yates is the Senior Digital Editor at House Beautiful, where she oversees design, gardening, and home renovation content. Since joining the team in 2024, Melanie ideates, assigns, and edits digital stories from in-house and freelance writers and helps execute big-picture projects for the brand. Prior to this role, Melanie was a senior editor at Best Products for over eight years, where she launched the site’s home vertical, conducted numerous bedding product tests, wrote The Present Perfect newsletter column, and produced video tutorials on how to wrap a gift. A lifelong enthusiast of the written word, Melanie holds a BA in broadcast journalism from Hofstra University and a certificate in copyediting from UC San Diego Extension. She’s always on the lookout for the next vintage find to furnish her Queens apartment.


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