FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I had flies in the kitchen this morning so moved all six of my fly traps to the window where the flies were. Two hours later, I checked on my unwanted guess. They were not only still in the window but they were feeding inside the traps. I moved the fly traps, killed the flies myself, and then got my plastic tweezers. I tried to manual feed the plants and not one of the traps worked. So is there a nation fly trap holiday that I am unaware of for today’s date.

Sometimes traps won't close, especially when they're "old" ones. That's normal, the next traps will close without problems.

moof wrote:Sometimes traps won't close, especially when they're "old" ones. That's normal, the next traps will close without problems.

I understand about the older traps but two of my six plants are new. I do have a number of new stems growing. When the traps are old and no longer working should you pull them off or just leave them as a funny looking leaf?

What kind of water are you using for your Flytraps? A buildup of dissolved minerals in the growing medium and in the plants can cause salt burn, stunting and cause the traps to lose their sensitivity. Other than that, it may be because the traps are old or have already closed the maximum number of times they can close.

Don't cut off older traps that don't close anymore. They still continue to photosynthesize and produce food for the plant from sunlight. It's better to trim off only blackened dead or dry parts of the leaves.

Steve_D wrote:What kind of water are you using for your Flytraps? .....

I've been using two store brands. If I'm at HEB or Walgreens I get their store brand but both are Distilled Water. Both are distilled from steam, micron filtered, and ozonated/UV treated.

Steve_D wrote:Don't cut off older traps that don't close anymore. ......

I haven't pulled any but I've been at a loss to do next. I was just wondering if pulling the traps would help generate more growth and more traps.

dmcelhannon wrote:I was just wondering if pulling the traps would help generate more growth and more traps.

Because Venus Flytraps live in very poor soil and get most of their food from photosynthesis and insects, it's not a good idea to cut down on their food supply by trimming off good leaves or leaf parts that are actively making food for the plant.

Just be patient, give the plant plenty of light, keep it moist but don't overwater it nor keep it wet all the time, and watch the new growth as it emerges. Venus Flytraps, especially those that are recently purchased or recently transplanted, often grow slowly at first for up to 6 weeks or so as they become comfortable and adapted to their new (and hopefully improved) growing conditions.