If you want your Venus flytrap to be happy and grow big colourful traps, there are lots of things you should do before thinking about what to feed it for dinner.
It might sound boring, but your little plant will be much healthier with proper watering, lots of bright sunlight, and – in the longer run – a cold winter dormancy than with bits of food being dropped into its traps.
Once you’ve taken care of your Venus Flytrap’s basic needs – or if you simply can’t wait any longer – read on…
Venus flytraps are cool, and feeding them is fun. What’s more, even the healthiest plant will eventually slow down its growth if it doesn’t catch any prey. If your Venus flytrap lives outdoors, or if you can put it outside on sunny days, then it will catch all the food it needs without your help.
But if you keep your Venus flytrap indoors – or just really want to feed your plant yourself – then there are 5 important things to bear in mind:
Venus flytraps are fascinating carnivorous plants that have the ability to capture and digest insects. Their unique traps snap shut when an unsuspecting bug crawls across their trigger hairs. Watching the traps in action is highly entertaining!
If you’re a new Venus flytrap owner, you may be wondering – how often should I feed my plant? Can they survive without eating bugs?
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about feeding frequency for Venus flytraps. We’ll discuss:
- Do Venus flytraps need to be fed?
- Signs your plant is hungry
- Overfeeding risks
- Feeding outdoors vs. indoors
- Complete feeding schedule
- Best food for flytraps
- Step-by-step feeding method
Let’s get into it!
Do Venus Flytraps Need to Be Fed?
The quick answer – no. Venus flytraps do not need to be manually fed by their owners. These carnivorous plants are adapted to capture insects on their own. Their traps are specially designed to lure, trap, and digest bug prey.
In the wild, Venus flytraps get all the nutrients they need from photosynthesis and the bugs they consume. You can successfully grow them without ever feeding insects. They’ll thrive with just sunlight proper soil, and distilled water.
However, feeding your flytrap occasionally has some big benefits:
- Stimulates faster growth and multiplication
- Helps produce flowers and seeds
- Provides extra nutrients for trap and jaw strength
- It’s fun to watch them eat!
So while not required, periodic feeding is recommended. Your plant will be very satisfied munching on a juicy bug every now and then.
Signs Your Venus Flytrap is Hungry
Since Venus flytraps don’t need to be fed, there aren’t obvious “hunger” signs to look out for
However, here are a few indications your plant could use some extra nutrients:
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Slow growth: If new leaf production seems to stall, a meal might energize growth.
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Small or weak traps: Traps lacking in jaw strength or size may need food to develop.
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Pale green leaves: Leaves that are light green instead of a deep green indicate less nutrients.
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No flowers: Flytraps need robust nutrient stores to bloom. Lack of flowering could mean it’s time to feed.
Again though, lack of feeding alone won’t harm your plant. Use these signs more as hints your Venus flytrap might enjoy a bug snack.
Risks of Overfeeding Your Flytrap
While Venus flytraps love insect prey, it is possible to overfeed them. Here are risks of overfeeding:
- Stress from too much digestion
- Mineral buildup from excess nutrients
- Mold growth on prey in traps
- Rotting or death of traps
- Damage to sensitive roots
Luckily, overfeeding is easily avoided by sticking to a proper feeding schedule. Just be sure not to overwhelm your plant with food. Moderation is key!
Feeding Flytraps Outdoors vs. Indoors
Whether you grow your Venus flytrap outside or inside makes a big difference in feeding requirements.
Outdoor flytraps will catch plenty of little critters on their own. They absolutely do not need supplemental feeding when grown in their natural habitat. Just sit back and let your plant hunt!
Indoor flytraps have no access to live prey. So giving them an occasional insect snack is recommended when growing them as houseplants. The bugs will provide beneficial nutrients and satisfaction.
Complete Feeding Schedule for Venus Flytraps
Here is a complete feeding schedule for indoor and outdoor Venus flytraps:
Indoors: Feed 1 live insect per trap every 2-4 weeks. Rotate traps being fed.
Outdoors: No feeding required! They will catch prey on their own.
Other feeding tips:
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Only feed 1-2 traps per plant at a time. Never overwhelm your plant.
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Wait until old prey is fully digested before feeding again. Digestion takes approx. 1-3 weeks.
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Avoid feeding during dormancy or drastic environmental changes.
And there you have it! Aim to feed an indoor flytrap just a single insect every few weeks. Outdoor flytraps don’t need any feeding assistance.
Best Foods for Venus Flytraps
You can feed your Venus flytrap any live insect or spider small enough to fit inside its traps. They love to much on juicy bugs!
Some top foods are:
- Flies
- Mealworms
- Ants
- Gnats
- Crickets
- Bloodworms
- Fruit flies
- Spiders
- Beetles
Carnivorous plants can’t eat hamburger, hot dogs, or other human food. Stick with creepy crawlies!
You can also use freeze-dried or frozen dead insects. Just be sure to “wake them up” in water first and manually stimulate the trigger hairs.
For picky traps, wiggle the food around with tweezers or gently squeeze the trap to promote closure. This mimics live prey.
Step-by-Step Guide to Feeding Your Flytrap
Ready to experience the excitement of watching your plant devour its prey? Here is a simple step-by-step guide:
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Select a healthy trap approximately 1/3 the size of the bug or smaller. Larger traps are best.
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Locate the thin trigger hairs inside the trap lobes. These trigger closing.
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Place the insect inside the trap, touching the trigger hairs. You can use tweezers or fingers.
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The trap will begin to close. If not, gently squeeze or wiggle the bug to stimulate closure.
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Once closed, tap and massage the outside of the trap to encourage digestion.
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Leave the bug inside until full digestion completes (1-3 weeks).
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Repeat process on a different trap every 2-4 weeks. Rotate traps being fed.
And that’s all there is to it! Soon you’ll have a pro bug-feeding flytrap master. Enjoy watching your plant get its nutrition the old fashioned, carnivorous way.
The Takeaway
To summarize key flytrap feeding tips:
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Feed indoor flytraps 1 insect per trap every 2-4 weeks
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Outdoor flytraps will catch their own food naturally
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Only feed 1-2 traps at a time, rotating each time
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Small live insects are best (flies, crickets, spiders, etc)
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Let traps fully digest before feeding again
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Avoid overfeeding to prevent shock and death
Follow these guidelines to keep your Venus flytrap healthy, strong, and satisfied! Feeding is not required, but it does provide great benefits. Have fun treating your carnivorous plant to nutritious bugs. Just be sure not to over-indulge your flytrap!
The best foods for your Venus flytrap:
The Venus flytrap menu: mealworms, bloodworms, and crickets.
- Mealworms: These small freeze-dried worms are a nutritious food source for Venus flytraps which you can buy from many pet shops and reptile specialists. Small tubs are available for around £5 or $8, and these contain enough food for dozens of plants to be fed for many years. Mealworms can sometimes be too big for flytrap seedlings, so for smaller plants, you may have to cut a worm into an appropriately sized piece. Simply rehydrate the worm with a few drops of water, soak up any excess water using kitchen roll, then pop it into the trap. Use your cocktail stick to gently touch the trigger hairs as described above. Yum!
- Bloodworms: Their name may be disgusting, but these tiny freeze-dried worms can be a great food source for Venus flytraps. They are cheap, nutritious, and can be bought at most pet shops and aquariums. You can buy small pots from Amazon. Simply take a pinch of dried worms, rehydrate them with a few drops of water, and soak up any excess water using kitchen roll. Then, using a toothpick or cocktail stick, separate out a little ‘meatball’ which is about a 1/3 the size of the trap. Pop it in, then use your cocktail stick to gently touch the trigger hairs as described above.
- Crickets: If you can find dried crickets that are suitably small, they make a fine snack for adult Venus flytraps. Tubs of dried crickets are cheap on Amazon. Simply pop one into each trap, making sure that its antennae won’t poke out and prevent a complete seal. You can stimulate the trigger hairs with a cocktail stick or toothpick, or by very gently squeezing the sides of the trap.
All three of these foods are suitable for other carnivorous plants as well as Venus flytraps (Dionaea muscipula). Bloodworms are ideal for almost all species, particularly sundews (Drosera) and butterworts (Pinguicula), while mealworms and crickets are often good for larger pitcher plants (Sarracenia and Nepenthes).
An all-red cultivar of the Venus flytrap awaiting its next meal.
How often should you feed a Venus flytrap?
If you’ve taken care of all its other needs, you can safely feed a Venus flytrap every month of the growing season. Simply pop bugs into 3 or 4 large open traps, stimulate the hairs as described above, and your plant will thank you for it!
Total Venus Flytrap Care Under 10 Minutes – Wal-Mart ,Lowes Beginner Fly Trap Tips (Updated 2024)
FAQ
How often do you feed a Venus flytrap?
Venus flytraps typically don’t require regular feeding if they are grown outdoors and able to catch their own food. If kept indoors, they should be fed about once every two weeks to a month with a small insect, like a cricket or a fly, according to The Spruce.
Can I feed my Venus flytrap dead bugs?
Can you overfeed a Venus flytrap?
Yes, it is possible to overfeed a Venus flytrap.