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Ask questions about how to grow and care for Venus Flytraps

Moderator: Matt

By mungomatt
Posts:  50
Joined:  Wed Apr 29, 2009 3:57 am
#10476
Hey guys,

yesterday i had my friend come over and he was taking a look at my VFT.

He killed and ant and tried to feed it to the VFT, but since it was dead it could not stimulate the trap.

So then he tried to close the vft and rubbed the two sides together to stimulate the trap.

I was not fast enough to stop him from doing this.

So anyways, i wake up this morning and that trap is wilted or brown in the spots where he touched the trap.


Should i just cut off the trap head?


Has this happened to anyone before?

Or was it just the ant?


Thanks guys,

Matt
User avatar
By Matt
Location: 
Posts:  22523
Joined:  Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:28 pm
#10477
I don't know that the brown spots had anything to do with your friend touching the trap unless he was very rough with it and scratched it in some way.

I wouldn't worry about cutting it off. I'd just leave it alone. When the entire leaf turns brown or black, then you could snip it if you'd like.
By kevinqwe
Location: 
Posts:  1840
Joined:  Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:04 am
#10481
maybe he had some oily hands.
its kinda hard to tell them not to do it. it's even harder to tell my cousin that is older than me to not do it.
By mungomatt
Posts:  50
Joined:  Wed Apr 29, 2009 3:57 am
#10486
Okay cool thanks.


Haha Kevin, I was thinking the same thing. Maybe the VFT had a bad reaction to the oil.

well...anyways perhaps a new growth will start...

How long after getting your plant do new growths start to come out?
By kevinqwe
Location: 
Posts:  1840
Joined:  Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:04 am
#10493
i guess always. us look down the middle. you might see a little head of a trap coming up.
By Aging_Bourbon
Location: 
Posts:  2799
Joined:  Wed Dec 31, 2008 10:14 pm
#10671
well if he forced it together yes it was caused by that.. and if he rubbed it together.. yes i believe it can due to roughness.. just clip off the dead trap it won't hurt the plant.. as long as you see new growth the plant will be fine.


allen,
By NZL
Location: 
Posts:  489
Joined:  Thu Apr 09, 2009 9:28 am
#10681
As long as there are green parts on the trap/leaf, let it be. These parts are still able to do photosynthesis. I only cut off dead traps after i see nothing green or red on the entire trap/leaf.
By mungomatt
Posts:  50
Joined:  Wed Apr 29, 2009 3:57 am
#10855
Okay, thanks guys.

I think it is just from the rubbing or oil because it has been 2-4 days since i observed the browning, and it has not progressed.

I will keep the trap on.
By Caleboy 123
Location: 
Posts:  729
Joined:  Mon May 25, 2009 12:13 am
#11440
I think if you put your fingers inside the 'mouth' it will kill it. My friend that got me into VFTs did that, and it killed it completely! So you should put up a sign that says not to touch, or you could end up with a pretty bogus plant.
By alabama
Location: 
Posts:  312
Joined:  Sat May 15, 2010 6:53 pm
#58973
Caleboy 123 wrote:I think if you put your fingers inside the 'mouth' it will kill it. My friend that got me into VFTs did that, and it killed it completely! So you should put up a sign that says not to touch, or you could end up with a pretty bogus plant.
i have touched the inside of the trap and my plant is perfectly fine hand fed it with a fly
By Doomsday
Location: 
Posts:  621
Joined:  Sun Mar 07, 2010 3:11 pm
#58996
It shouldnt KILL it but triggering it to close or roughhousing it like a monkey with crash cymbals will possible wound it ;) lmao. Thats like giving a baby food and smashing its cheeks together to get it to swallow it lol! Just triggering it however will cause the plant to waste energy and the trap will die sooner. MOst traps die after 3-5 triggers.
Here ae a few ways you can keep people from touching it.

1. Tell them it can kill it.
2. Tell them the rim hairs are sharp (people often ask this when they see mine)
3. Say "yes" when they ask if it hurts.
4. Tell them the acid in the trap is poisonous for human skin.
5. Keep a waterbottle nearby and spray them if they dont listen.
By tc3driver
Location: 
Posts:  519
Joined:  Tue May 25, 2010 2:39 am
#59253
Doomsday wrote: 5. Keep a waterbottle nearby and spray them if they dont listen.
Best solution to a problem evar!

but I never thought it would work on a human :D
By OR1ON
Location: 
Posts:  276
Joined:  Wed Apr 14, 2010 9:53 pm
#59264
Haha then... use a super soaker!
By marvic
Location: 
Posts:  35
Joined:  Sun May 02, 2010 4:05 pm
#59328
Lol u so funny guys :lol: Though, I also told my niece that the VFT is poisonous and it worked fine for me :D
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