Fruit flies are not the most common insect in your garden. However, these little critters can be a nuisance when trying to enjoy fresh fruit. Luckily, there are many ways to keep them out of your garden. One of the most effective methods is to use carnivorous plants.
Do Venus Fly Traps Eat Fruit Flies?
A plant called Dionaea muscipula, also known as the Venus fly trap, is a common houseplant that is very easy to care for. In addition to the fact that it is a great plant for catching insects, this plant can also be used as a decorative feature in your home or garden.
How To Care For A Venus Flytrap
To grow a venus fly trap, you must first learn how to water it correctly. This will vary depending on the climate, humidity levels and which growing zone your plant is located in.
If you live in a warmer climate, your venus fly trap can be watered by using distilled or rainwater. During the summer months, it needs to be watered regularly to ensure that the soil is moist. If you live in a colder climate, your venus fly trap will need to be kept in a container that can be left outdoors or indoors during winter to avoid the plant shriveling up.
Once you have your venus fly trap, you can begin to feed it small insects or protein sources. These can include crickets or mealworms.
Mealworms are particularly good for a venus fly trap because they have the same size as the plants leaves and can fit into the trap. You can buy these from most pet stores or online stores like eBay and Amazon.
You can also try feeding a venus fly trap with a few pieces of meat, such as chicken or turkey. These are good protein sources but they should not be fed more than once every two weeks as the plant does not need to consume large amounts of food on a regular basis.
Lastly, you can try feeding your venus fly trap a few slices of ripe fruit to see how they react. While they can't eat a lot of fruit, they should be able to catch most of the fruit flies that visit your garden.
What Are the Different Types of Venus Fly Traps?
The main difference between the different types of venus fly traps is in how they capture their prey. Unlike some other carnivorous plants, which may use a sweet-smelling sap to lure their target, venus fly traps use a pheromone-like chemical to attract their prey.
This chemical is produced by the hairs on their 'trap'. When something touches these pheromone-like hairs, the insect is drawn into the plant's mouth and then the "trap" closes to trap the insect. Once inside, the insect is digested by enzymes within 4 to 10 days.
Although a venus fly trap can eat any insect that is no larger than half its leaf, they are most commonly used to catch insects like flies. Some venus fly traps can even eat tiny spiders.