# Carnivorous Plants **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 11, 2000, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carnivorous-plants/28914 "2000-08-11T01:29:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carnivorous-plants/28914/1 "2000-08-11T01:29:41Z")
Anybody own a Venus Flytrap? I am expecting some in the mail shortly and need to know of any special treatment they need. I know they like acid soil and hot/humid climates (they should do great here in DC!). Anything else? What happens if the fly supply runs out, do I have to feed them little scraps of meat with tweezers or can they survive on soil nutrients alone? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carnivorous-plants/28914/2 "2000-08-11T01:31:37Z")
We used to feed ours small pieces of ham or bologna. I loved that litte plant. ---
**Author:** ![tubagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b77776/32.png) [@tubagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tubagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carnivorous-plants/28914/3 "2000-08-11T01:32:44Z")
I had one once. It died. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carnivorous-plants/28914/4 "2000-08-11T01:52:22Z")
I had one once. I fed it bits of hot dog. It died. ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carnivorous-plants/28914/5 "2000-08-11T01:54:43Z")
Well, carnivorous plants live in boggy soils where nutrients are poor, or locked up in the acidic soils, So, they get things like nitrogen by digesting insects. As long as you keep the plants watered, they should be able to attract enough insects on their own to feed themselves. I’ve heard the messing around with the traps will actually cause them to stop responding to stimuli. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carnivorous-plants/28914/6 "2000-08-11T02:30:01Z")
Don’t feed it meat. It can catch bugs all by itself. A trap works four or five times and dies. It is after all a plant and grows from sunshine and water. Use rainwater or distilled water. Minerals or salts in water will kill it. I’ve killed a few myself in the terrarium. I have two doing great outside in zone 7. They are in a buried tub filled with peat moss. Be sure that it is sphagnum peat. A good book is The Savage Garden by Peter D’Amato. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carnivorous-plants/28914/7 "2000-08-11T03:17:19Z")
You have large meat-eating plants growing in Zone 7? Why does this sound really really scary to me? Like some horror B movie. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carnivorous-plants/28914/8 "2000-08-11T03:19:47Z")
Maybe it’s the nuclear waste from the minute man missile silos. All I know is that they catch the 6’ ants quite easily, and I am happy with that. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carnivorous-plants/28914/9 "2000-08-11T10:53:35Z")
Note to self: Next time **carnivorousplant** hosts a Dopefest at home, politely decline… ---
**Author:** ![SouthernStyle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@SouthernStyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SouthernStyle)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carnivorous-plants/28914/10 "2000-08-11T12:38:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by agisofia \* > \*\*I had one once. I fed it bits of hot dog. It died. \*\* That’s as bad as trying to feed one a McDonald’s hamburger. Venus fly traps are _carnivorous_. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carnivorous-plants/28914/11 "2000-08-11T12:47:49Z")
I _love_ carnivorous plants! There was a mail-order garden place that once sold a “carnivorous collection”, which included a flytrap, sundew, pitcher plant, and one other that escapes me. Would anyone know what company (was it Gurney’s?). I too have never been successful with them - they die so easily! What I fed the flytraps were ants and flies I caught myself, and placed in their pods. When doing so, I would talk like this sometimes: [Renfield]Ahhh, my pretties, here are some more choice morsels! Hahahahahaha![/Renfield] Craziness. ---
**Author:** ![Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wonko_The_Sane)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carnivorous-plants/28914/12 "2000-08-11T12:48:28Z")
Do a yahoo search on “venus flytrap” (with quotes). I just got one, and between the above search and “carnivorous plants” I got a lot of good info. Basically: Distilled water good. Fertilizer bad. Bugs good. Meat bad. Replanting is stressfull to the plant and they need very little root space. Sun good. Dry bad. Moist good. Tripping traps when not feeding…Bad. I have mine under the light of my fishtank (above the water). It gets the benifit of 160W of flourescent goodness, and the cat stays away (no, the plant’s not that big yet) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carnivorous-plants/28914/13 "2000-08-11T13:15:44Z")
Wonko- How do you have the VFTs in your aquarium? ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carnivorous-plants/28914/14 "2000-08-11T15:21:00Z")
Yes I did the search for “venus flytrap” but only found the one site (which was where I ended up making my purchase). I just did a search for “Carnivorous Plant” and got a lot of great stuff. I like the idea of a terrarium, and I guess that’s where I’ll relocate my babies when it gets bitter cold outside. For now, there’s an abundant supply of big, juicy horseflys out back (they seem to loiter around my back door for some reason, so I’m going to plant my first VFTs in window boxes, then sit back and watch the carnage). Question re. terrariums: If I grow a variety of meat-eating plants in a closed area, can they all just get along? I think I found a new hobby 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carnivorous-plants/28914/15 "2000-08-11T15:28:09Z")
Some CPs including VFTs need to be dormant in the Winter. Check out the CP FAQ on the net. ---
**Author:** ![SouthernStyle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@SouthernStyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SouthernStyle)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carnivorous-plants/28914/16 "2000-08-11T17:40:13Z")
Uh, **Carny** , Are you allowed to post to a thread with this name? Seems kind of like cannibalism in reverse. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2000, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carnivorous-plants/28914/17 "2000-08-11T17:43:46Z")
Actually it’s a clever ruse involving a sock puppet and a spell checker.