Old flies in the trap

Old flies in the trap#60278

By eamsch -  Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:34 pm
Posts:  13
Joined:  Sat May 29, 2010 8:31 pm

- Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:34 pm #60278

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

Re: Old flies in the trap#60281

By Carl -  Tue Jun 22, 2010 1:19 pm
Location:  Shropshire, England
Posts:  693
Joined:  Wed May 07, 2008 3:28 pm

- Tue Jun 22, 2010 1:19 pm #60281

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

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Re: Old flies in the trap#60326

By Linguist__ -  Tue Jun 22, 2010 6:50 pm
Location:  Shropshire, England
Posts:  33
Joined:  Mon Jun 07, 2010 6:41 pm

- Tue Jun 22, 2010 6:50 pm #60326

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.

Re: Old flies in the trap#82399

By wiki234 -  Sat Jan 08, 2011 5:59 pm
Location:  Shropshire, England
Posts:  134
Joined:  Tue Nov 16, 2010 8:00 pm

- Sat Jan 08, 2011 5:59 pm #82399

Indoors remove
Outdoors leave

Re: Old flies in the trap#82400

By dantt99 -  Sat Jan 08, 2011 6:01 pm
Location:  Shropshire, England
Posts:  5045
Joined:  Sun Oct 17, 2010 4:48 am

- Sat Jan 08, 2011 6:01 pm #82400

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.

Re: Old flies in the trap#82478

By BradR -  Sun Jan 09, 2011 4:07 am
Location:  Shropshire, England
Posts:  450
Joined:  Sun Nov 28, 2010 5:00 pm

- Sun Jan 09, 2011 4:07 am #82478

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

Charles Darwin: "The Venus Flytrap is one of the most wonderful plants in the world."

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