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Home » How to: DIY Fire Starters with Bug Repellent

How to: DIY Fire Starters with Bug Repellent

October 18, 2023 by Gardenmom 8 Comments

fire starters made with empty toilet paper tubes dryer lint string wax dried herbs
DIY Fire Starters ready to go!

It is turning fall here in the North and it is a good time to make some DIY fire starters. I thought adding in some bug repellent will make them useful even into next spring. Fire starters are helpful when you are a newbie at starting a fire like we are.

Can you picture sitting by the fire with your family, watching the flames flicker and dance? Relaxing and drinking something hot or roasting some marshmallows? We like to use our fire pit as a dual purpose tool at our house. One for relaxing and staying warm at the end of the day, and another for creating wood ash. The wood ash we use to add into our chickens dust bath.

We also had a tornado not too long ago and needed to burn the limbs that fell. As well we had some scrap wood from projects outside. I found this post on making your own DIY fire starters with wax, toilet paper rolls, yarn and lint from your dryer. So, we have been saving all of those items as they become available to us. This particular article said you could use up left over candle wax. What we had was Bees wax pellets. But I also had the idea since then to add dried mint to keep away the bugs.

string scissors empty toilet paper tubes beeswax in bowl peppermint dryer lint
Supplies for DIY Fire Starters

What to Gather:

  • Wax of some sort, we had yellow beeswax pastilles on hand (and I am not a fan of regular imitation smelling candles. They tend to trigger migraine symptoms and aren’t very healthy for anyone.)
  • sauce pan
  • heat proof bowl
  • dried mint, peppermint or Rosemary
  • String
  • recycled toilet paper tubes
  • Wax paper
  • cookie sheet
  • Dryer lint, wood shavings, dried herbs, cedar chips, dried twigs, etc.

Start by cutting the toilet tubes on one end in four even places about 1/2 inch slits and fold inward. Stuff the lint, wood shavings, and/or dried herbs into the tubes. Next, cut the other side of the tube the same as the first end.

empty toilet paper tube scissors cutting the tube
Cut 4 slits on each end of the tubes for fire starters

Then, fold in the cardboard tube slits in toward the center, overlapping them. While holding one end closed, start wrapping the toilet paper tube from one end to the next. Wrap the string around twice and tie off at one end.

empty toilet paper tube filled with dryer lint peppermint ends folded tied with string
tubes ready to be placed in wax for DIY Fire Starters

Leave about 1 ” tail on both ties so you can start the tube on fire easier. To start melting the wax, you make a double boiler with the sauce pan and heat proof bowl. Add in about a tablespoon or two at a time. Melt the wax by stirring with a chop stick or something you don’t mind getting wax on.

heat proof bowl in water in sauce pan
Melt wax in double boiler or heat proof bowl
Bees' wax pellets in small metal heat proof bowl inside a sauce pan on a stove
Bees wax in heat proof bowl to create fire starters

bees wax is melting in heat proof bowl in water in sauce can on stove
Wax melting

Once the wax is melted, then you can dip the tubes in one at a time until they are coated. Place them on wax paper on a cookie sheet. This way you can move them to where ever you have room to cool them.

melted beeswax in heat proof bowl in water in sauce pan on stove empty toilet paper tube filled with dryer lint and herbs tied with string
Fire starters being coated with wax

empty toilet paper tubes peppermint dry lint melted wax on outside tied together with string
Let’s go have some s’mores or some tea and relax with our DIY fire starters

Fire Pit Instructions

My hubby and I worked hard on creating a fire pit this summer. Well, mostly the hubby. It was such a hot time to work on it, too. But we pressed on. Later on we learned that building a cheap DIY fire pit in the ground wouldn’t work for our back yard. It fills to the brim with water when it rains. So, alas, we will be redoing it, but for now, we still use it once in a while, if it has been dry.

Once we redo it, I will share a post on it. What do you do to start a fire in your fire pit? Do you have any tips and tricks to share with others? Share them down below in the comments if you want. Happy relaxing!

Pin for Later!

empty toilet paper tubes with lint from dryer melted wax and string to tie it together for a fire starter
Stored Fire Starters

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jeaniemarie

    October 20, 2023 at 8:08 pm

    Oh wow! This is such a good idea! There is nothing better than sitting and warming up by the fire. Thanks for sharing the instructions, very helpful!

    Reply
    • Gardenmom

      October 23, 2023 at 6:17 pm

      Jeanie,
      Thanks for your encouragement. I hope you try them and they work for you. Have a blessed day!
      Kimberlee

      Reply
  2. wwd.com

    October 22, 2023 at 6:24 pm

    5 stars
    I do accept as true with all of the concepts you have introduced on your post.

    They’re really convincing and will certainly work.
    Still, the posts are too quick for starters. May you please lengthen them a little from subsequent time?

    Thank you for the post.

    Reply
    • Gardenmom

      October 23, 2023 at 6:18 pm

      Hello,
      I am sorry that you are feeling that I went too fast through the instructions. I will try to add more details.
      Kimberlee

      Reply
  3. Tom

    November 8, 2023 at 8:38 am

    Wow!
    It looks great.
    Also see you have your email working now!

    Thank you for sharing Kimberlee.

    Reply
  4. best gold ira companies

    November 24, 2023 at 7:09 pm

    5 stars
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  5. Fred Ramsey

    December 14, 2023 at 4:27 pm

    Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you writing this post and
    the rest of the website is really good.

    Reply
    • Gardenmom

      December 18, 2023 at 2:00 am

      Thanks for your comments, Fred! If you ever have any questions, just let me know!
      Kimberlee

      Reply

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Hi, I’m Kimberlee, and I enjoy gardening, I love my chickens and I want to save money while having fun living on the land God gave us.  Follow me to find ways you may not have thought of to save money.

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