FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I just got my VFT yesterday and i fed it half of an earwig(because its still small.) Shortly after i was looking it over and i noticed very tiny black bugs crawling all over my VFT, but mostly just on the trap that held the earwig. The bugs are so small that they wouldn't look like much in a picture. They would mostly look like little dirt specks. PLEASE HELP ME!

Were the black bugs on the plant before you put the earwig (whatever that is!!??) in the
trap?
Maybe the little bugs came from the earwig?
Do you have other plants nearby with the same bugs?

Can you just wash them off with a misting bottle?
A few good hard sprays may just wash them off!

Did you have the plant outside for any period of time?
If so, see if you can find the bugs on something else, near where the plant was.

Have you seen any of them in the past? If not, you may just want to wait it out. There's no reason to just assume they're going to cause any problems and that they'll stick around. My advice would be to simply keep a close eye on your plants. If they appear to be spreading or you start seeing damage to traps and leafs you can then consider an insecticide. I would probably recommend Neem Oil. I personally use Green Light Neem Oil Concentrate and dilute it as instructed on the package.

I did not see the black bugs on the VFT before I put the bug in. This does not mean that it they couldnt have been on it before. Like I said I just got it a few days ago. It does spend most of its time outside in the sunlight but I don't see these bugs on any other plants around it. I have been seeing fewer of them but the trap that holds the bug is starting to turn brown around the edges. The bugs look somewhat like a very miniature version of and adult flee( if that helps.) also I've noticed a few flies walking right over and tripping many of the hairs on my VFT. The only problem is that the thing won't close! So i decided to try and trigger them myself, as a test to make sure it was working and none of the traps will close. I am doing it right by the way(tripping more then one hair to avoid the safety mechanism.) Any help is greatly appreciated.

just relax then. if you keep your plants outside there will be tons of little bugs that cruise around your plants. My plants thrive and there is always something crawling by. too small for my plants to eat but big enough to feed off the nectar of my vfts. i have not found any bugs to destroy or pest my plants yet... though a couple bugs have chewed out of a trap. was like some Caterpillar and he was stuck half way out and i shoved him back in and he was toast! Just keep a Close eye out and AS far as the traps not closing... your plant is new give it time to adjust to its environment and new traps it produces will work my firend!
well hope that helps
~Dubstep13

thanks! there is 2 new traps sprouting up and im hoping those will work!

Since you just got your VFT a couple days ago there is a high likelihood that most of the traps have already been triggered too many times. A single trap is usually good for about 3-4 times being tripped, and then it loses its "sensitivity" to being triggered. It's also quite likely that if you purchased it from a large retail store that it was being watered with tap water, which can often cause traps to become inactive due to the high mineral count in the tap water. All in all, as long as the new growth on your plant continues to look healthy I doubt you have anything to worry about!

One more thing that i noticed and that I'm worried about. On the ones that are dying and even on some of the traps that look healthy... the teeth i guess you would call it are starting to bend and look unhealthy. Almost to the point that if it was open completely, a somewhat larger bug wouldn't be able to even get in. I have no idea what this could be and I'm worried it will happen to the new younger ones too. Id appreciate any help. Also if you need i can upload some pics if you need. Just let me know. Thanks everyone for all your help.

Also they droop. They don't stand straight up like a healthy one would. The stalks go from the middle and spread out and hang over the side of the pot. They are in poor shape

All of this sounds normal for a VFT that's been recently purchased, especially from a large retail outlet. You've had the plant for 3 days now, give it some time to recover. Carnivorous plants in general are pretty slow growing and it's going to take some time for the plant to get used to it's new environment. There's a high likelihood that the old growth that you see now is going to die off reasonably quickly. As long as the new growth from the plant is looking healthy you have nothing to worry about.

new growth looks healthy but hasn't made any progress over the last few days :/... like at all

Really, you just have to give the plant a little time to settle in. If you don't see growth resume (remember, VFTs grow SLOW compared to most plants) in about 2 weeks you can start getting concerned...I promise that you cannot kill a healthy VFT in 2 weeks unless you're actively trying to take care of it poorly.

Matt, I have the exact same bugs all over mine but I’ve had mine for a longer time and I’ve never fed it anything but distilled water and indirect sunshine. They don’t seem to harm it… Much at least. I did have to cut away one of the traps because it had a nibble spot that turned black and eventually killed the whole trap and turned it black too. But I’ve even tried to get the fly trap to close on the bug which was successful but then the bug climbed right out like it was nothing. I think the reason that they are on the one that you put the earwig in is because they are probably attracted to whatever juices it is secreting. I have noticed the bugs tend to like to be on the trap. Just a guess though I am by no means an expert plant owner. I’ve had mine for about eight months and when I first brought it home it was fine for a while but within a month everything on it died except for one tiny speck of green that eventually sprouted into a trap and now I have about a dozen traps. They’re all healthy and beautiful! Other than of course the little bugs that I’m also worried about. That’s how I found this post I googled what are these bugs on my Venus fly trap. Anyways, when and if your traps die make sure you remove the black dead ones. Only use distilled water, they like to be an enclosed container, and indirect sunlight. The soil should be moist but not soggy. :geek :