A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 Quick Questions on Venus Fly Trap

I just have a couple questions on my Venus Fly Trap. I just got it a couple weeks ago, and I LOVE it! I have wanted one for a while, but never really got out to get one. Question- can Venus Fly Traps eat Ladybugs? I have a few around my house this time of year, and for lack of flies, I gave it one. It hasn't done a whole lot, but I can make out the outline of the Ladybug through the trap. Also, I have an old fish tank I am using for a terrarium. It is sealed, except for a small hole at the top, but is that enough? Will the humidity stay high enough if I remove the top? Sorry, but I have one last one. After a while, how could I propagate it? Could I take a cutting of a leaf and trap then stick it in water? Thanks in advance! I have been reading this forum for a while, and am amazed to see the help give out! Great place!

Ladybugs won't kill it or anything, but they have a very tough exoskeleton. It should be fine, but try the softer bugs next time.

How small is the hole? As long as you have some air movement in there you should be good, because they thrive in humidity. Make sure you're not letting it sit in stagnant water, though!

Leaf cuttings are not enough to propagate - you'll need to pull down on the leaf far enough that you get some of the white. Then you can lay it on the soil (very acidic soil), and cover the bottome up a bit, w/ lots of water. Keep in mind, these guys take years to grow to full size so be patient!

If you need any info on how to set up your terrarium, the soil, or anything else - there's a lot of good info specifically for the carnivores in this forum, or you can PM me!

Thanks, I was hoping that the Ladybug wouldn't kill it. It's an okay sized hole, but I'm not sure. Would the humidity stay up if I completely took off the top? Thanks for the help!

Probably not. How big is the hole in the top? You're probably better off leaving it off. Why do you want to take it off so bad?

It's about an inch in diameter. I'm a little jumpy about the top because I want my VFT to be good, and I think it would catch more insects if I took the top off. I just didn't want to lose the humidity, thats, all. Thanks, I think I will take it off.

No, don't take it off. an inch is plenty to still have circulation, and it will do a great job of keeping all the humidity in. Your best bet is to put the bugs in there for it, instead of letting them wander in there in their own.

i have a 15 gallon tank and i have 2 tiny green tree frogs i put plastic wrap over a velcro cover and some of it has gotten pulled off i planted a pitcherplant a sundew and a venus fly trap for some reason tons of little fruit flies have gotten in there its not a problem the plants love eating them i think yours would do great with the top on let it create some humidity and then some little fruit flies will come in if you really still want to feed it only feed it once a week the humidity won't go away if you put the lid back on right away

I live in a place with little to no humidity and I just let it live in a pot sitting in a tray full of pebbles and water, and it just sits in my window sill.

Rubber - that's the perfect way to keep humidity in your plant. Especially as opposed to letting it sit directly in water itself. That's also good for other plants that need moist soil, like Pachiras.

Hi, this is my first time on this forum. I was searching the internet to find out if venus fly traps will eat fruit flies and came across this site. I read some where that VFT won't eat small insects, is the fruit fly too small? Will the FVT eat fruit flies?
Thanks

VFTs will eat anything that fits in their traps. Including fruit flies.

Oh, VFTs need a dormant period in winter by the way. I don't recommend keeping them in a terrarium. Good luck!

Tom

At any time I have 50+ VFTs growing outdoors, and I routinely leave them standing in water, up to a few inches or more. If they become totally submerged (even the leaves and traps), that can be a problem, but only after a month or longer. They are practically aquatic. Sorry, but based on my experience and what I've seen from someone who has thousands growing in children's swimming pools, telling someone that leaving them in standing water is going to rot the roots is just plain wrong advice. This is not even a particularly impressive photo (a few plants from last fall), but you can see that not only do they grow outside in standing water, they grow well. If it hasn't rained for a while, I'll generally wait until the water in the trays completely evaporates before watering again, and I'll water enough to leave at least a half inch of water in the bottom (or more.)

Those are soooooooooo cooooooooool lookin'!!!

Here's a better photo...

Wow!! So many of the same thing!!?
Are they out where they can catch their own food or do you feed them?

Personally, I would leave the lid off the terrarium. VFTs dont need much humidity compared to other carnivorous plants. That way if you leave the lid off it may catch something. Never heard of a VFT catching a fruit fly. Unless its a really young plant. I think they like bigger food. Something small like a fruit fly wont even trigger the trap I dont think. I dont know I might be wrong. Just my opinion.

Based on what I've seen, the smaller traps tend to catch the smaller insects, down to ants (I don't see why a fruit fly would present a problem.)

The only reason I can think of to have a terrarium for growing VFTs is to have something cool to look at in the house (unless you are living in an area with very little sunshine; cold weather doesn't hurt them; I guess if neighbors or passers-by would steal your plants, that would be a good reason to keep them indoors.) They obviously don't grow in terrariums where they grow naturally. They are native to boggy (WET) conditions. I have grown them under fluorescents, and they just tend to look a lot healthier and grow faster when grown outside. If I decide to expand my Nepenthes collection to include some varieties that require more humidity, I'll build a small greenhouse (Nepenthes get way too big for a terrarium, and I'd rather take advantage of natural lighting.) One of the VFT terrarium advocates should try an experiment... put a VFT outside in a tray with a generous amount of water, in the bright sun, leave it alone for a few months aside from watering if the rain doesn't take care of that, and see how it does. I use distilled water, of course. I have quite a few VFTs because they seem to multiply without me doing much of anything (except repotting.) I have started some experiments with leaf propagation, but mostly they just divide on their own. They are not all the same type of VFTs, however. Be careful to use pots that are sufficiently large, or they may run out of water and become dry too quickly, especially if growing outdoors. I use about 3/4 Canadian sphagnum peat moss and about 1/4 (or slightly less) sand. "Rotting the roots" should be the least of your worries (keep them WET.)