FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hey all,

I have my VFT in my office where it's sitting happily and growing.

then my office got bombarded with fruit flies. They come and go in masses and we can never seem to control them.

Now I noticed they're swarming around my traps. I am sure the traps are happy with the buffet, but I am not happy with the flies in my face.

Any ideas on what I can do to reduce/eliminate the fruit flies? I am hesitant in covering the traps because they're used to be uncovered.

You should try growing a pinguicula in your office and see if that helps.

Drosera capensis is the answer. Put a piece of fruit next to it and it'll devour them all.

Ohh, thanks! I will take a look at those and see if I can order some.

can they be placed in the same pot, or no? I was thinking of doing a little carnivorous garden in a large bowl, but not sure where to begin yet. still in research phase

Your office must despise you. That's why I don't take my plants to work.
here: http://lifehacker.com/5635971/lifehacke ... er-vinegar

I second D. capensis. It's easy to grow and can catch a lot of flies. Pings are also useful, but since they lay kind of flat, they aren't as effective for snatching flies out of the air. You can grow D. capensis with your flytraps, but I prefer not to because they get messy looking and can overgrow the VFTs. You can also use neem oil where the flies are breeding for a few months and try not to keep the soil too wet.

my office is disgusting lol. People don't clean up after themselves and it attracts the flies. I am not going to go around cleaning up after them every night.

Thanks for the plant suggestion, I will see where I can find some!

I was half-joking with that suggestion. While Drosera capensis is very good at catching fruit flies, I would not expect it to be able to clear them all out, especially if other people are providing breeding ground for them.

I did try placing my Drosera capensis plant in a room filled with darn fruit flies and I don't think it managed to catch anything. Even if I placed it next to the fruit basket that was attracting them, I never saw any captured on Droesra leaves. Perhaps if I'd remove all fruit, they would start searching for alternative source of food and would find my carnivore, but... didn't work. Tried it only for a couple of days, perhaps I should test it again.

This may sound like a strange suggestion, but a short glass with a little bit of cheap whiskey (I used Canadian Club) in it seems irresistible to fruit flies and quickly drowns them through surface tension. A little trick my grandfather showed me...

Tarzanus wrote:I did try placing my Drosera capensis plant in a room filled with darn fruit flies and I don't think it managed to catch anything. Even if I placed it next to the fruit basket that was attracting them, I never saw any captured on Droesra leaves.

For me they've caught a bunch in my office. They couldn't eliminate the problem, but they helped. Mine were under a light so maybe that helped attract them. What they're really good at catching (outdoors) is mosquito hawks and, unfortunately, lacewings.

GreenOhio wrote:This may sound like a strange suggestion, but a short glass with a little bit of cheap whiskey (I used Canadian Club) in it seems irresistible to fruit flies and quickly drowns them through surface tension

It also works with apple cider vinegar. Really well.

Fun thread.

But the problem isn't that the CPs can't get all the flies. The problem is that there is apparently a breeding ground for them somewhere in the office, or else, a known place in the office that people aren't taking care of very well.

Indoors, you could grow the plants together in the same pot, as long as they don't intrude on each other. But of course, outdoors, they require different growing conditions, so it would not be recommended.

For a more massive control option, just put out some sticky fly tape.