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 trap and digest insects, Their unique trapping mechanism allows the plant’s leaf lobes to snap shut when prey touch trigger hairs inside the trap Watching the traps in action is highly entertaining!
While Venus flytraps don’t need to be fed by their owners to survive, feeding them can provide some benefits. Flytraps get nutrients from photosynthesis like other plants but the nutrients from digesting insects enhances their growth and vitality.
Figuring out the optimal feeding schedule for your Venus flytrap ensures they get enough nutrients without overfeeding Follow these guidelines on frequency and methods for feeding your flytrap, and it will thrive
How Often Should You Feed a Venus Flytrap?
I recommend feeding an indoor Venus flytrap once every 2-6 weeks. Feed just one or two traps per plant, using one small insect per trap.
Outdoor flytraps will catch their own bugs, so you don’t need to feed them manually. Just make sure the environment has natural prey available.
Here are some key points on flytrap feeding frequency:
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Feed a trap only once it has fully digested its previous meal, which takes 2-3 weeks. Don’t overload traps with too much food.
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During dormancy in winter, don’t feed at all. Flytraps naturally stop trapping bugs in cold weather.
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Feed less often in very hot or very cold temperatures when growth slows.
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Young flytrap plants need more frequent feeding to support rapid growth.
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Mature flytraps can be fed toward the lower end of the range, every 4-6 weeks.
Watch for signs of overfeeding or underfeeding to fine tune the schedule for your plant.
Signs Your Venus Flytrap is Overfed
Feeding a flytrap too often or using prey that’s too large can harm the plant. Here are signs of overfeeding:
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Traps turning black and dying after eating.
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Tiny new traps unable to fully close and digest large bugs. This causes rotting.
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Stunted, slow growth from too many leaves lost to overfeeding damage.
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Mold or rotting on the edges of traps.
Adjust the feeding schedule to be less frequent and use smaller prey if you notice these issues. Damaged traps will unfortunately not recover, but new healthy ones will grow.
Signs Your Venus Flytrap Needs More Food
While flytraps don’t depend on feeding, more nutrients can energize them. Underfed plants may show:
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Slow growth and small new leaves.
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Few or no flower scapes developing.
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Small root system and minimal new offshoots.
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Traps reopening quickly without fully digesting prey.
Up the feeding a little if you want to encourage faster growth and flowering. The plant will be fine with minimal feeding, but won’t thrive as vigorously.
Best Bugs to Feed Your Flytrap
Venus flytraps eat live insects and spiders in the wild. Some good options are:
- Flies
- Mealworms
- Crickets
- Bloodworms
- Ants
- Gnats
- Spiders
- Beetles
Live insects are ideal, but you can also use dried or frozen bugs sold as reptile food. Just rehydrate dried insects before feeding.
Avoid these unsuitable foods that can harm flytraps:
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Anything besides insects/spiders
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Large prey that doesn’t fit well in the trap’s lobes
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Hard, crunchy insects like some beetles that are difficult to digest
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Human food like meat or cheese (flytraps cannot digest it!)
Step-By-Step Guide to Feed Your Flytrap
Follow these steps when it’s time to feed your Venus flytrap:
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Select a live insect or rehydrate dried insect prey. Make sure it is small enough to trigger the trap and fit inside.
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Choose a healthy flytrap leaf/trap to feed. Larger, established traps work better than tiny new ones.
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Locate the trigger hairs inside the trap lobes. These hair-like sensors trigger the lobes to close when touched.
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Place the insect in the trap, touching the trigger hairs. Or have a live bug walk in and trigger the trap.
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For dried/dead prey, gently squeeze and massage the closed trap to stimulate it to realize “prey” is inside. This helps trigger digestion.
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Leave the trap alone while it digests the insect over 2-3 weeks. Don’t feed other traps during this time.
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Once digestion is complete and the trap reopens, that trap can be fed again. Continue rotating feedings.
With the proper feeding schedule and techniques, your Venus flytrap will thrive. Enjoy watching your plant in action as traps capture and consume tasty bugs! Just be careful not to love your flytrap to death by overfeeding it.
Frequently Asked Questions About Feeding Venus Flytraps
How long does it take a Venus flytrap to digest an insect?
Flytraps take 2-3 weeks to fully digest an insect and reopen after feeding. Digestion involves breaking down prey with enzymes and absorbing the nutrients.
Can you feed a Venus flytrap dead insects?
Yes, dried or previously frozen insect prey works for flytrap feeding. Rehydrate dried bugs in water first. Gently squeeze the closed trap when feeding dead prey to stimulate digestion.
What happens if you don’t feed a Venus flytrap?
Flytraps will survive just fine without any feeding from owners. They don’t depend on caught prey, just benefit from the extra nutrients. Outdoor traps will catch small bugs on their own.
Do Venus flytraps die after eating a bug?
Traps will turn black and die after eating, but this is totally normal. Each trap only closes and digests prey once in its lifetime. The plant grows new traps to replace old ones continuously.
Should I feed my outdoor Venus flytrap?
You don’t need to feed outdoor flytraps. They will catch small insects and spiders on their own from the environment. Make sure to situate them in a spot where natural prey is available.
Why are my Venus flytrap’s traps turning black?
When flytrap traps turn black after feeding, it indicates they are dying back after successfully catching and digesting prey. The trap will not reopen once it turns black. This is normal, not a sign of a problem.
Keep Your Venus Flytrap Thriving
Following these feeding guidelines will keep your carnivorous plant healthy. Venus flytraps are fascinating additions to a garden or windowsill, and feeding them live insects makes their predatory nature even more fun to observe. With the proper care, these hardy plants will grow vigorously.
Just be cautious not to overfeed your flytrap, which many new owners accidentally do because feeding them is so interesting! A light feeding schedule and small prey keeps these plants from digestive issues. Your Venus flytrap will have the best chance of thriving when you optimize its feeding routine.
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!