FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

there are old spiders and flies in my VFT and i was wondering if i should let them sit there or try and take them out. i heard in nature they come out with wind or rain. should i pour water in them, poke them out with a needle or let the dead insects sit there?????? HELP PLEASE

I would leave them in the traps

1. Poking would activate the traps weakening the plant.
2. Dead bodies attract more flies (more flies, more food )

But your right in nature the rain and wind would remove most victims

Carl

If your plants are outside then it's probably okay to leave the carcasses in the traps. However, if you grow them indoors then keep a look out for mould or any other nasties. The dead bugs will attract more bacteria than flies indoors. Apart from looking nasty, all that will likely happen though is that your trap dies off so not a huge loss, but still best to avoid mould and bacteria in general.

Indoors remove
Outdoors leave

If your plants stay outdoors you should leave the carcases in the plant.

If you are indoors, carefully remove the carcases with tweezers or something that can pull them out of the trap.

When the trap re-opens after digesting an insect, it will not be very sensitive to stimulation for a day or two. During this re-setting period it is almost impossible to trigger it. You can carefully pluck the insect skeleton out with forceps (tweezers) or use a stream of water from a spray bottle to blast it out. After a couple of days it becomes difficult to remove it without triggering the trap.

Brad