what should i get

[meatslim]

so i wanna start a CP terrarium or tray under my dart frogs to catch the escaped fruit flies. what plants do u guys think would be good for this? Im gonna have them under CF bulbs. basically, im looking for whatever attracts fruitflies the best and are relatively easy to care for. Any suggestions?

 

[xvart]

You probably don't even need a terrarium. I grow most of my plants under CF lights with no terrarium. There are lots of great Nepenthes that will do well under lights outside an enclosure. You could try N. ventrata, N. maxima, or N. ventricosa.

You could also get some mexi pings or sundews. Any of the typicals would do fine in your setup. Sundews would certainly do an excellent job of catching stray fruit flies. My D. adelaes are covered with bugs.

xvart.

 

[meatslim]

are u sure i dont need a terrarium? during the winter, humidity actually drops down to 0% in my room. its 30-50% during the summer. Yea Ive heard the sundews attract fruitflies pretty well. Do nepenthes do the same or do they just sit there and get whatever strays happen to wander by

 

[herenorthere]

A terrarium is probably the best choice, given your humidity, or lack thereof. But those stray fruit flies aren't likely to go in on their own. I'd recommend starting the terrarium, but keeping the plants in pots so they can be moved in or out of the terrarium. Few plants are happy with anything approaching 0% humidity, but many can be if they're only exposed to it for a day or two at a time. You can rotate plants into and out of the terrarium so some are out catching fruit flies while others are basking in humidity.

 

[meatslim]

i might just put a humdifier next to the plants.

 

[nepenthes_ak]

Ive had mine adapted to really low humidity, true theirs 0 room humidity, but theirs a small amount of ambient humidity as long as He is watering right, from the trays, the pots, and things like that.

 

[xvart]

during the winter, humidity actually drops down to 0% in my room.

Ugh... well in that case, lol.

xvart.

 

[PlantAKiss]

You might want to buy a hygrometer at a pet or fish shop to test your humidity. They aren't too expensive and you might be surprised to find your room is not 0. There are ways to raise the humidity.

I have some of my CPs in tanks and they do catch a few bugs. But the ones out of the tanks catch more.

 

[nepenthes_ak]

An easy solution to catching the fruit flys, Get as many CPs as you possibly can. While you might go broke, you will still have an awesome collection.

 

[MrFlyTrap2]

during the winter, humidity actually drops down to 0% in my room. its 30-50% during the summer.

If your room really gets to near zero in the winter, you may want to think about getting a room humidifier anyways. You'll sleep better, your nose wont dry out, and you won't wake with those weird sore throats from the air. Those seem to boost my room back to the 30 - 40% range, maybe even more. Plus you'll feel warmer yourself since humid air feels warmer than dry air.

Nate

 

[meatslim]

You might want to buy a hygrometer at a pet or fish shop to test your humidity. They aren't too expensive and you might be surprised to find your room is not 0. There are ways to raise the humidity.

I have some of my CPs in tanks and they do catch a few bugs. But the ones out of the tanks catch more.

nope, i actually do have hydrometers, several in fact. i have them outside my tanks because i had a lot left over from shrinking my reptile collection. my room actually is 0 in teh winter. the digital reading goes down to 1% and then --%.

edit: yea its pretty ridiculous. i actually get nosebleeds in teh winter so i probably should get a humidifier anyway

 

[rattler]

use good sized trays that hold alot of water, and you can grow mexi pings and low growing sundews just fine without a terrarium........i do know of what i speak. our winters have very low humidity, couple that with central air and my house readily sees humidity into the single digits. atleast the old house did. i was growing N. 'Ventrata' in 20 percent humidity without a tray and getting good pitchers(its a freaking weed) after an acclimation period. low humidity means there are certain sundews, Heli's, most Neps and a few other things that you cant grow outside of a terrarium. however Pings and low growing sundews have enough localized humidity that they will grow like mad if given enough light. also Fruit flies easily find dews and pings situated on a shelf below the frog tanks...........thats where most of mine are now. works very well, not all the fruitflies are captured but they seem to like the smell that is put of by the dews especially and tend to hang around their pots till i guess either they starve or get captured. i never see fruit flies outside of my frog/plant room anyways