# My Venus flytrap is utterly useless **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 16, 2022, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308 "2022-06-16T15:57:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/1 "2022-06-16T15:57:03Z")
Even when I trap flies in a plastic CUP and put them OVER the flytrap, so that the fly is virtually guaranteed to land on the traps sooner or later, the Venus flytrap will trigger in such a way that the fly escapes the closing pod and isn’t caught. How do these things make a living in the wild? ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/2 "2022-06-16T16:23:55Z")
They don’t live in your house ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/3 "2022-06-16T16:27:21Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > How do these things make a living in the wild? They only exist in a very narrow specific microclimate, and feed on a variety of insects (not just flies). ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/4 "2022-06-16T17:12:04Z")
When a mosquito lands on my arm, if I try to slap it immediately, it’s too quick and flies away. I have to let the mosquito settle itself and just start to get a-bitin’, then I slap the little basterd to death while it’s occupied. I suspect your fly and the flytrap is a similar situation. I think flytraps give off an odor that attracts certain insects, so they land in there and are all distracted thinking they’re going to find some food, giving the flytrap time to catch it. But when you try to insert the fly in there, or drop it out of a cup or whatever, it’s freaked out and just trying to get away from the madness as quickly as it can. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/5 "2022-06-16T17:18:11Z")
The hairs need to be stimulated more than once to cause a trap closure. > **[Venus flytraps’ ultra-sensitive hairs help determine if an insect is worth...](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/venus-flytrap-hairs/)** > > Good news for bugs that weigh less than a sesame seed. Try giving it two test tickles. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/6 "2022-06-16T17:20:49Z")
Also, > **[Gothic Gardening: “Six Easy Steps to Kill Your Venus Flytrap”](https://texastriffidranch.com/2020/05/08/gothic-gardening-six-easy-steps-to-kill-your-venus-flytrap/)** > > (Background: this essay was one of several columns commissioned for the magazine Gothic Beauty between 2009 and 2011. Since the magazine hasn’t published a new issue in years, it’s time to drag up … ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/7 "2022-06-16T17:23:14Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Try giving it two test tickles. Won’t that turn it into a Vulcan flytrap? ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/8 "2022-06-16T18:57:45Z")
The real question is whether your Johnny Fever does anything other than play old Pink Floyd albums. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/9 "2022-06-16T23:30:13Z")
Obviously in the wild they learn from their parents, just like lion cubs. By breeding them in captivity they are robbed of this opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/10 "2022-06-16T23:51:06Z")
I’m thinking of the tyrannosaurus in Jurassic Park who refused to eat the captive goat because that didn’t count as hunting. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/11 "2022-06-17T03:45:26Z")
Paging @carnivorousplant ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/12 "2022-06-17T04:21:20Z")
We had one and it caught insects, including a fly once. The real issue is they are very light eaters - eating one fly every few weeks isn’t really going to make a dent of the number of flies around the place. ---
**Author:** ![SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpacemanSpiff_II)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/13 "2022-06-17T13:51:11Z")
When I was a kid, my brother had one that he fed tuna fish. I don’t recall that it ever caught anything on its own. ---
**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:** [June 17, 2022, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/14 "2022-06-17T13:53:17Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > The real issue is they are very light eaters - eating one fly every few weeks isn’t really going to make a dent of the number of flies around the place. That is the answer. Feeding tuna fish or hamburger will probably destroy the trap. Each trap can only work a few times before it dies. VFTs are grown in nurseries by the thousands without eating. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/15 "2022-06-17T14:00:49Z")
As for the flies, get a Bug-a-salt. It’s the cat’s pajamas! ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/16 "2022-06-17T15:04:11Z")
I have a dead housefly now, and I think I’m going to feed it to the flytrap by putting it in the trap, then using a toothpick or something to prick the inside of the trap into thinking the bug is alive, 5-7 times. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/17 "2022-06-17T15:10:28Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Each trap can only work a few times before it dies. Wait, what? These things only eat a few times in their lifespan? Is their lifespan that short, or is carnivory just not that important to their sustenance? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/18 "2022-06-17T15:10:47Z")
As mentioned, an indoor Venus flytrap doesn’t need extraneous sources of meat to survive. Placing a dead fly in a trap and triggering it every once in awhile may be entertaining, though less so than watching a filthy insect alight on the trap and get caught. There are more satisfying carnivorous plants to raise, however. [![](https://www.metroweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/SPOTLIGHT-LittleShop_123MV5BZGIxZjA2MmItNjRiNi00OWExLWIwOWItNDNkMjAwZmE1MjMwXkEyXk....jpg) ](https://www.metroweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/SPOTLIGHT-LittleShop_123MV5BZGIxZjA2MmItNjRiNi00OWExLWIwOWItNDNkMjAwZmE1MjMwXkEyXk....jpg) ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/19 "2022-06-17T15:13:15Z")
The trap in this case meaning the individual leaf that forms the trap, not the whole plant. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308/20 "2022-06-17T15:13:32Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Wait, what? These things only eat a few times in their lifespan? They grow new traps. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-venus-flytrap-is-utterly-useless/966308.md?page=2)