Can You Feed the Venus Flytrap Dead Flies?

Carnivorous Plant

• The Venus flytrap has a sweet smell that attracts insects between the plant lobes. Trigger hairs are stimulated by the insect, and this causes the plant to snap shut and trap the foreign body. The digestion process can take as long as two weeks. After the plant has consumed the nutrients from the insect, the lobes will open and all that remains are remnants of the insect, such as wings that the flytrap does not consume. On occasion, the plant will close on an object that can't be used for feeding; the plant recognizes this and will open in about 24 hours. Sometimes the insect manages to escape.

Feeding Dead Flies

• The Venus flytrap will accept a dead fly if you trick the plant into believing the fly is alive. Drop the fly into the open lobes of the plant. Using great care, gently press the upper and lower lobes closed with your thumb and finger. Keep squeezing until the two lobes are touching. The trigger hairs inside the mouth will flex and the dead fly will be consumed. Another method is to carefully push a toothpick or other narrow tool into the closed trap to arouse the trigger hairs after dropping in a fly.

Care

• Venus flytraps are perennials and should be grown in plastic containers outside. Place the pot in the ground to avoid rapid temperature changes to the soil. The pot must have holes for adequate water drainage. Provide half shade during summer and full sun in the spring and fall. During winter, cover the ground with 3 inches of pine needle mulch if you are planting south of zone 7. Regions north of zone 7 are too cold for the flytrap, and the potted plant will need to be moved to a garage or storage area with a temperature range of 30 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The plant goes into a dormant stage during winter and its leaves may die.

Soil

• Do not use potting soil, Michigan peat or fertilizers. Flytraps like acidic soil with good drainage. Mix one part clean sand with two parts peat moss for the potting soil. A half-and-half mixture will also work, but the soil will dry out quicker. Change the soil every year or at least every two years.