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Traps Die With Catch

S

Spiffy1

Guest
My VFTs are doing pretty good for my first time growing them, I think.  They are bright green and have plenty of new traps sprouting now.  I just put an occassional fly or cricket (store bought) in the terrarium (enclosed) and let the trap naturally catch them.  Two of my traps have caught insects (one fly, one cricket) with the insects sticking out of the trap a little.  Now they are turning black with the insect as the origin.  Why are the traps dying too?  Is there some way to prevent this?  Thanks.
 
From what little I know, if the insect is too big for the trap, it will usually kill it. Along with that, it is recommended that the prey be about 1/3 smaller than the trap. If it cannot close completely, and part of the bug is sticking out of the trap, air can get into the trap and cause bacteria, which in turn can kill the trap.

Hope this helps.
 
I think it's normal for a trap to die after a catch, in many cases, especially the cultured ones.

It seems to me that the important thing is to limit the plant's intake so taht it has some photosynthesizing leaves alive at all times. If you only lose one leaf a month, you should do alright.

--Steve
 
I've had my Vft a year now, and learned that the only way to get the trap to digest the fly without killing the trap is to hand feed it. Catch the fly and place it in the freezer (in a little container) for a few minutes. This will result in the fly being knocked out for a few minutes. Carfully put the fly into the center of the trap lengthways and suprise suprise, the trap will close loosely over the fly to see if its dead or alive. The fly will then wake up, try to escape and tell the trap that its caught live food. This will trigger enzyme production which will digest the fly without killing the trap.

Good Luck
 
The traps are dying because you are letting part of the bug stick out. That is allowing fungus and bacteria to get into the trap and start growing on the dead insect. The Venus Flytrap will start to digest the fugus and/or bacteria and that will, in turn, kill the Venus Flytrap's trap. Also, don't feed it anything larger than 1/3 to 1/2 the lengh of the trap.
 
I will again suggest potatoe/sew/pill bugs. They come in all sizes, they are slow, so the trap can close over them, and the dont have long appendages that can protrude from the trap... They take a little while to digest I think, but who really, cares, as long as your plant has food... They also come out in one piece, that way, you have less of a chance of accidentally shutting the trap while fishing it out, with only one try, right?
 
Hi Spiffy1

Welcome to the forums.
smile.gif
My VFTs self feed and do fine. The traps will turn black after they have fed several times. That's natural. If the petiole is still green, just trim the black trap off and leave the petiole as it will continue to use photosynthesis to make food for the plant. It is true the traps need to close completely or bacteria can get in. Don't fret too much...remember that out in nature, no one is fussing over what size bug gets in or if it misses a catch. I'm sure sometimes they catch a bug too big and I've seen many of my traps get triggered and the fly gets away (darn!). The trap may die but it will grow more. If you are going to hand feed it, keep the bugs small and don't use ones with hard shells and long gangly legs (as others have mentioned).

Good luck
Suzanne
 
the older your plant gets the tough and more times a trap can be fed it also depends on the bug rolly pollies i believe will kill a trap every time but it shouldnt die if it eats a cricket or fly that is small enough for the trap
 
Ive fed 2 traps (2 different plants) rolly pollies a few weeks ago....both traps are now dead. I think its because of their #### shells. I dont really like the idea of buying bugs (theyre frickin bugs!) and all i can really find around my house are rolly pollies...it sucks!

josh
 
  • #10
oh yes...i forgot...
does anyone have any good tips on catching bugs?

josh
 
  • #11
Hi Josh

Where do you live? Can you put your flytrap outside? If so, it will catch its own bugs and you won't have to worry about it. When I got my first flytraps I tried feeding them and it was a pain and I didn't like it. (I fed pill bugs also but they didn't kill my traps). Then I decided to let nature do her thing and they caught LOTS of bugs (mostly flies) and I didn't have to mess with it. And remember, they don't HAVE to be fed bugs...they will do fine without.

Suzanne
 
  • #12
Suzanne,

i live in austin tx, i could put em outside. But ve been growing indoors under some flouro's. Its been working REALLY good so id kinda like to stick to that for now. I get a few fruitflys from various other plants i grow but they dont trigger the traps. My P. primuliflora takes most all the fruitflys anyway.

freebugs=good :)

Josh
 
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