FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi there, after many years of interest in carnivorous plants, I have bought a small Venus Fly Trap from a nursery here in Melbourne.
I have a few questions for those who are willing to help me;

1. I have bought peat moss to plant the VFT in, but am not sure whether to simply repot it with pure peat moss or add something? (as of the moment the trap is sitting on a window sill in the original plastic pot)
2. Feeding. Is there any way you could ever 'overfeed' a VFT?
3. Should I be worried if the traps close by mistake (eg. an ant walking through one)?
4. A friend recommended I spray my trap twice a day with a spray bottle of rain water, how moist should I keep the pot?
5. Any tips/tricks?

Thanks so very much!
- gravis

gravis wrote:Hi there, after many years of interest in carnivorous plants, I have bought a small Venus Fly Trap from a nursery here in Melbourne.
I have a few questions for those who are willing to help me;

1. I have bought peat moss to plant the VFT in, but am not sure whether to simply repot it with pure peat moss or add something? (as of the moment the trap is sitting on a window sill in the original plastic pot)
2. Feeding. Is there any way you could ever 'overfeed' a VFT?
3. Should I be worried if the traps close by mistake (eg. an ant walking through one)?
4. A friend recommended I spray my trap twice a day with a spray bottle of rain water, how moist should I keep the pot?
5. Any tips/tricks?

Thanks so very much!
- gravis

Welcome!
1. Well, its advisable to add some other stuff in there to make sure the media is "airy" enough (perlite, coarse silica sand), this will lower the chance of rotting.
2. No, as far as i am aware of.
3. If an ants triggers the trap, it will most likely mean its death, but its not a big deal if it is triggered occasionally, but do not do it on purpose, the plant will spend energy on this, which could be used for growth.
4. I keep then in a tray, u dont need to watter it with a spray bottle then(u could if the air is really dry), i keep about 5 cms of water in the tray.
5. Well, the only tip i can give u is: enjoy your plant! And dont forget it needs dormancy once a year, and give it rainwater/distilled water only.

Reguarding question 2, you dont really need to feed a VFT yourself. They will do fine on what they catch themselves. But every now and then there will be a huge fly in the house and the after it has annoyed you for awhile you will end up chasing it round the house and catching it, then feeding it to your VFT. Just make sure you dont kill the fly first, it needs to be alive.

Thanks so much Sander and Cookie!
Also, Cookie0117, what is the significance of the fly being alive? What would happen if it was not?

gravis wrote:Thanks so much Sander and Cookie!
Also, Cookie0117, what is the significance of the fly being alive? What would happen if it was not?

The trap will close when 2 of the hairs inside are triggered within a certain time (approx 20 seconds). It then requires the hairs to be triggered again once closed to start digesting. This is when the trap will seal shut.

If the digestion cue is not received then the trap will reopen with the undigested bug in. It could then cause you problems as it rots or just takes up the space that a live one could be in!!

People who feed their traps dead bugs can gently rub/massage the traps. I have never done this myself having only fed my plants a couple of times, always with a stunned fly. They catch plently to survive on their own and I only fed them as the flys were huge and would not leave me alone, even after several warnings!!

Overfeeding your VFT can result in the death of many of your traps. The plant will be okay, but each trap has a lifespan of approximately 1-3 feedings. Many growers like the look of robust red traps. You will have a hard time achieving this if they are always digesting.

cookie0117 wrote:Reguarding question 2, you dont really need to feed a VFT yourself. They will do fine on what they catch themselves. But every now and then there will be a huge fly in the house and the after it has annoyed you for awhile you will end up chasing it round the house and catching it, then feeding it to your VFT. Just make sure you dont kill the fly first, it needs to be alive.

catch it with a glass or something, put a piece of paper under it, and stick it in the fridge for a few mins, then it becomes stunned and will slowly regain movement^^

Ahh okay gotcha, thanks so much! I have a number of pesky blowflies around the house during this time of the year, and now at least I don't have to squash them and chuck them out thanks again!

Sander wrote: 3. If an ants triggers the trap, it will most likely mean its death

It won't most likely mean its death, in fact it will most likely be fine. Traps are able to close a limited number of times so if it is repeatedly triggered, it will stop working and waste the plant's energy and after it no longer works it may die sooner than had it never been triggered. But a single false alarm won't kill it. Only if its an old trap near the end of its life would being triggered cause it to turn black and for that matter, digesting the bug might as well. Usually traps that are too large to catch ants don't get triggered by ants. If an ant does trigger your trap and manages to escape, it will re-open after a day or two. You have to imagine they get triggered by insects without catching them and by wind blowing debris into them in the wild too so nothing to worry about. It's what they do.