Hi,

I bought a venus fly trap from home depot a little over a month ago,
everything is ok so far

i have been using tap water which seems to work (ny area tap water) so all
is well on that front...

today though we had a hot today out and i managed to catch a big fly, and
found another dead one

on the porch outside, i killed the one i found and put it in one of the
traps, but being a little anxious

(since this thing has not eaten anything since the first day i got it), and
since both are really big flies i decided to help one of the trap close and
now i am afraid that i might have hurt it. when i close the trap i only
applied pressure at the outer most region (where the "teeth"? are located)

so, my question is do you think i hurt it, is it ok to help the traps close
using the same method i have used in the future?

also does the dead fly i found have any nutritional value?



Thanks in advance

Guy Nussbaum

Since all this is still new to you, you should observe what the plant does
and learn from your observations. You really need to do a google search to
find out more about your carnivorous plant.

The plants don't need to catch flies to survive so let them do their own
thing without forcing flies upon them. If the fly is too big, the trap will
reopen by itself to let it go.

The marginal teeth on the leaf blade are not the trigger hairs that close
the trap.

Do dead flies have any nutritional value? Eat one and find out. I wouldn't
eat one but that's my personal preference.


verizon wrote in message
...
Hi,

I bought a venus fly trap from home depot a little over a month ago,
everything is ok so far

i have been using tap water which seems to work (ny area tap water) so all
is well on that front...

today though we had a hot today out and i managed to catch a big fly, and
found another dead one

on the porch outside, i killed the one i found and put it in one of the
traps, but being a little anxious

(since this thing has not eaten anything since the first day i got it),
and
since both are really big flies i decided to help one of the trap close
and
now i am afraid that i might have hurt it. when i close the trap i only
applied pressure at the outer most region (where the "teeth"? are located)

so, my question is do you think i hurt it, is it ok to help the traps
close
using the same method i have used in the future?

also does the dead fly i found have any nutritional value?



Thanks in advance

Guy Nussbaum

In article , "verizon"
wrote:

Hi,

I bought a venus fly trap from home depot a little over a month ago,
everything is ok so far

i have been using tap water which seems to work (ny area tap water) so all
is well on that front...

today though we had a hot today out and i managed to catch a big fly, and
found another dead one

on the porch outside, i killed the one i found and put it in one of the
traps, but being a little anxious

(since this thing has not eaten anything since the first day i got it), and
since both are really big flies i decided to help one of the trap close and
now i am afraid that i might have hurt it. when i close the trap i only
applied pressure at the outer most region (where the "teeth"? are located)

so, my question is do you think i hurt it, is it ok to help the traps close
using the same method i have used in the future?

also does the dead fly i found have any nutritional value?

Thanks in advance

Guy Nussbaum

Give it LIVE flies or woodlouses (sowbugs) or moths. The motion of the
living insect causes it to secrete enzymes, & something dead will first
have fewer nutrients (the exoskeleton is not nutritious) & second will not
induce the toothy head to start digesting. Moths are easy to catch using
your porch light as attractant, & they are probably the best flyetrap
food.

Don't squeeze it in the future. Though you probably did it no harm, you
could. Kids who repeatedly force the trap to close cuz its so fun
generally end up killing it, as it weakens the plant so that it can no
longer closes on insects, & stops secreting enzymes. However, it doesn't
need to be closed completely to begin the slow process of extracting
nutrients from an insect, so you could de-wing or partly crush a live moth
or fly so it can't get out even with the teeth open. If the head moves at
all (on its own) it will start secreting enzymes.

Your main problem could be they don't like indoor humidity levels (too
low) & it'll be too dry to retain its snapping action. It won't be able to
close well if it dislikes the level of humidity. A completely closed
terrarium, or at the very least a bell jar that covers the entire pot,
will keep humidity high, & you can even turn little moths loose under the
closed glass. You should also get an aquarium pump & run a hose into the
terrarium to create air circulation, or the "dead air" will assist plant
rot. Most instructions never mention the use of a pump, but instead
suggest the lid be partially opened to permit air circulation, but all
that does is lower humidity while there is still no air circulation. Just
about ANY terrarium plant will do better if a small aquarium pump is
slowly replacing the air within, & especially so flytraps.

It probably doesn't matter that yours has been slow to feed, they're not
nearly as heavy at feeding as are pitcher plants. They need a periodic
feeding of moths or flies or small beetles & whatnot beginning April or
May all the way to the start of Autumn. Depending on size of plant (&
size of insect) it may need as few as one insect a week, not always in the
same "mouth," & the teeth will remain closed throughout the slow enzymic
process so can't be fed more often anyway. In winter it will require a
dormant period which can be tricky if left in a terrarium (some people dig
them up to store for two or three months in the bottom of a refrigerator,
or the plant can be clipped to the surface of the medium but left in the
terrarium which is moved to an unheated barely lit basement for a dormant
period. Always a risk the bulb won't make it).

It will not digest the exoskeletons, so the toothy heads get cluttered &
grubby, but it will grow replacements; you should cut off grubby leaves &
teeth as they're replaced by fresh growth.

This is not my favorite carnivorous plant because they mainly have to be
grown indoors & are high-maintance. If they could just live in a terrarium
year-round without needing the dormant period, I might like them, but most
people end up disappointed with them because even if you keep them humid &
well fed while they're active, wintering them's boring & sometimes
difficult, hence a much-overlooked aspect of their care. They often just
look puny besides. The fact that they eat bugs isn't enough to make them
special to me, but pitcher plants would be glorious even without the
novelty aspect, as nice as jack-in-the-pulpits but with the added feature
of lasting & lasting & lasting (in my zone they even have a winter
presence, though thye really are dormant & get very scruffy in winter; the
cobra lily is bouncing back to life by March, the pitcher plants by May).

I like the ones that do well outside, which would be the pitcher plants &
cobra lily. Those can feed themselves & take care of themselves just so
long as they are in a moist sterile medium in bright sun. In fact pitcher
plants are much more garden-hardy than most people seem to realize, & they
do MUCH better outside than in terrariums. I have one sunken tub for them,
but am planning a second pitcherplant garden as a raised-tub garden
that'll sit on the sunny front porch, as the one drawback to having them
in the garden is racoons or cats & dogs step on them. I've been looking
for a miniature bathtub with feet, but alas the only vintage baby bathtub
I could find for sale that had feet cost about a thousand dollars! So I'll
probably end up with a big crockery forest-bowl.

You might look at this page:
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/carnivorous.html
and its link to the venus flytrap page, & bookmark it for reminders of care.

Here's my cobra lily:
http://www.paghat.com/carniverous2.html

Here are my pitcher plants:
http://www.paghat.com/carniverous.html

They're scruffy cuz a racoon got to them, but they're growing nicely even so.

While the Mouse Plant is not officially carniverous, it is at least
parasitic in its use of fungus moths, & since it retains & kills moths &
starves moth larvae to death inside its tail, I really suspect the Mouse
Plant is partially carniverous:
http://www.paghat.com/mouseplant.html

I grow these because they're pretty rather than because they trap bugs,
but everything these plants do interests me.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

On Fri, 02 May 2003 16:48:30 GMT, "verizon" wrote:

Hi,

I bought a venus fly trap from home depot a little over a month ago,
everything is ok so far

i have been using tap water which seems to work (ny area tap water) so all
is well on that front...

today though we had a hot today out and i managed to catch a big fly, and
found another dead one

on the porch outside, i killed the one i found and put it in one of the
traps, but being a little anxious

(since this thing has not eaten anything since the first day i got it), and
since both are really big flies i decided to help one of the trap close and
now i am afraid that i might have hurt it. when i close the trap i only
applied pressure at the outer most region (where the "teeth"? are located)

so, my question is do you think i hurt it, is it ok to help the traps close
using the same method i have used in the future?

also does the dead fly i found have any nutritional value?



Thanks in advance

Guy Nussbaum


When feed an insect the trap (only the trap) will probably die. Venus
fly traps are not eay to grow. They need high humidity, a
bog(wet)-type soil, and no fertilizer. Don't touch the plant and keep
it in a sunny location. Do not feed it. Do not tease it.

On Fri, 02 May 2003 16:48:30 GMT, "verizon" wrote:

I bought a venus fly trap from home depot a little over a month ago,
everything is ok so far

today though we had a hot today out and i managed to catch a big fly, and
found another dead one


(since this thing has not eaten anything since the first day i got it), and
since both are really big flies i decided to help one of the trap close and
now i am afraid that i might have hurt it. when i close the trap i only
applied pressure at the outer most region (where the "teeth"? are located)

so, my question is do you think i hurt it, is it ok to help the traps close
using the same method i have used in the future?

also does the dead fly i found have any nutritional value?

The fly supplies whatever micro-nutrients the plant requires to grow.
A bog usually doesn't supply these materials. From what I remember
reading online a few years ago, the plant only needs about one fly
every one to two _weeks_, so it's not a big occurrence. The plant
also requires _live_ flies, since the stimulation of the fly walking
around the trap is what starts the digestive process. Some people
catch wasps, then freeze them for a couple minutes so they're still
alive, then put them in the trap so they are still (temporarily) alive
and thus walk around, but I wouldn't recommend this especially
since he could escape and you'd have a very angry bee flying around.

I might still have the links (from many years ago), lets see....

http://www.sarracenia.com/faq.html
http://www.pitcherplant.org/

These should help a lot with info for your venus fly trap. As someone
else said, do not tease it by touching the trap; this saps energy
from the plant. Also use only sphagnum peat moss as potting material.
And don't let it flower; cut off any flower stalks.

Dan

Hi, I always bomb out with venus fly traps and decided if i ever
bought them again, i would make a terrarium for them. After the last
one died, i was throwing out the container it came in and noticed some
fine print on the other side of the label. It said not to keep making
it close and open, or it would die after 10-15 times. It also said to
use distilled water. Other than that, these things die on me real
fast. Good luck, i would be doing a search and gather info, otherwise,
like me, you will have spent a lot of money and still have no freakin'
fly trap.




On Fri, 02 May 2003 16:48:30 GMT, "verizon" wrote:

Hi,

I bought a venus fly trap from home depot a little over a month ago,
everything is ok so far

i have been using tap water which seems to work (ny area tap water) so all
is well on that front...

today though we had a hot today out and i managed to catch a big fly, and
found another dead one

on the porch outside, i killed the one i found and put it in one of the
traps, but being a little anxious

(since this thing has not eaten anything since the first day i got it), and
since both are really big flies i decided to help one of the trap close and
now i am afraid that i might have hurt it. when i close the trap i only
applied pressure at the outer most region (where the "teeth"? are located)

so, my question is do you think i hurt it, is it ok to help the traps close
using the same method i have used in the future?

also does the dead fly i found have any nutritional value?



Thanks in advance

Guy Nussbaum