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Carnivorous Plants

Venus fly traps and beefburgers

14 years ago

This may seem a rather bizarre question but it is in fact true.

My brother in law has acquired a Venus Fly Trap and is feeding it beefburgers. I doubt this is the healthiest option for it. Does anyone have ideas on a healthy diet for a fly trap? Flys perhaps? Maybe he should add statins to the water he gives it?

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Comments (2)

tommyr_gw Zone 6
14 years ago
No need to feed it, put it outside in full sun. It'll catch PLENTY of food itself. Feed it NO MEAT unless you want to kill it.
mcantrell
14 years ago
The grease from hamburger will kill the plant rather quickly. Turkey won't help either. Your best bet is to put the pots outside and they'll get plenty of bugs landing on them, especially once they get bigger.

If your brother absolutely needs to feed them (I'll admit, it's neat watching them snap shut), finding live crickets or dried worms at a local pet store is pretty easy to do. Look in the fish and lizard sections. Growing fruit flies is also an option, CarnivorousPlantNursery.com has a kit for that.

Also, speaking of water, it needs to be really really pure water, anything not pure will kill it. That includes most tap and hose water.

CaliforniaCarnivores has a really great book on the subject, "Savage Garden", which covers all types of plants including Venus Fly Traps.

If your brother in law has internet access, you could refer him to this forum or the FAQ at http://www.sarracenia.com/faq.html, which covers some typical questions and missteps.

A quick "cheat sheet":

1. Nothing but bugs, *NO* Hamburger (Would YOU eat a Squashed-Fly-Burger?)
2. No Minerals, especially near the roots:
2a. Pure, Distilled or Rain Water, not tap water
2b. Sphagnum Peat Moss, not Potting Soil
2c. No Fertilizer, ever
3. Venus Flytrap HAS to go dormant in winter or it will die
3a. Either put out on the porch for Winter or in the Fridge
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