Citronella?

[Bethvet]

I'm interested in trying citronella oil as an outdoor insect repellent. Does anybody have any experience with how to use it on a deck or patio area? Also if it works how much would one expect to use over the course of a summer?

Thanks for your help.

[rebeccaravit]

We bought two citronella torches for our yard. They've been outside for almost a year (probably should have brought them in during the winter!). We didn't spend much time outside last summer since DS#2 was a June baby but we bought the big refill container to use instead of the disposable canisters. We've never refilled the torches since like I said we didn't go outside often. Not sure if you can trust your kids to stay away from the torches, but we really didn't use them when the kids were playing in the yard, mostly while we ate at the table at night.