FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

1. 2. My plant sits on a windowsill 24/7, receiving sunlight filtered through the window & the blinds.

3. I water my flytrap as needed, I keep the water level in its cup right at root level, according to the care instructions, so that the roots of the plant are submerged.

I killed some flies with a multi-surface glass cleaner containing vinegar and the flies didn’t actually die from the cleaner so I fed them to the plant not thinking it would harm it but obviously the traps which I fed the flies into have now turned black. So is it too late to prune these traps off or have I doomed my entire plant to death? The rest of the plant not poisoned by the flies I killed with cleaner appears to be alive still but I’m wondering if the cleaner could still be making its way through the plant and eventually will end up killing it regardless of what I do now.

First of all, venus flytraps need to be outside so they can receive direct sunlight for at least four hours a day. They need direct sunlight to thrive. If kept in the conditions they are in now, they will die. Also, I wouldn't feed it anything that has been sprayed with window cleaner. They will catch insects on their own outside. They will need a dormancy period as well, which is something they cannot get inside.

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a couple things.... that will not be enough light for a flytrap, even without the blinds filtered through a window depending on how much sunlight it gets through the window...may not be enough. if grown indoors in a windowsill I would also not leave it sitting in standing water at all especially not to the point the roots are submerged as you are just inviting root rot, fungus, and many things which will result in the death of the plant.

I would fully remove it from the water tray in the windowsill or if you do put it in a tray give it as much light as possible and keep a very low water level let it dry up completely in the tray, wait until the top of the medium has started to dry out and you can wiggle a finger beside it and see its drying out there...then water it again.

filtered from a window and blinds is not gonna cut it I'm afraid. as far as the dead traps yeah vinegar sprayed flies might not be the best food those traps are going to die, you can leave them or you can trim them, general practice we use in our household is if its green leave it be. as it can still photosynthesize light but even then trimming black parts won't hurt anything.

i'd keep it less wet indoors, open blinds, and give it a bright sunny window with most sun it can get assuming moving it outside is not an option at all for you.

if you can move it outside, i'd acclimate it over a week or so leaving it outdoors but giving it an hour of direct sun, then move it (keeping it outside though!) to a shaded spot or put a shade cloth of some sort over it to receive bright but indirect light the rest of the day... the next day 2 hours....following 3 or 4.. more or less "build it up" to being a "hey I just live in the full sun all day"

this advice could shift slightly depending on where you are located/temperatures

I live in an apartment so it’s hard to really just leave the plant outside. The care instructions I got with the plant said it likes sun but not full sun and to keep the water level at root level so that’s why I was doing both those things. I did trim the blackened traps already so I won’t be feeding it poison flies ever again. As far as feeding goes however I did hear that you can feed the plant freeze dried bloodworms so I am thinking of doing that. Any one ever done this themselves or heard of doing this either maybe?

Most apartments have a balcony. Do you have one that receives direct sunlight?

Nope, no balcony.