Venus Fly Trap
(Dioneae)

The Venus Fly Trap is native to the bogs of North and South Carolina. This highly evolved plant uses a mechanical action to catch its prey. The traps produces a reddish color inside the leaf, and secretes a scent that attracts insects. Inside the traps are trigger hairs. To close a trap, these trigger hairs need to be touched twice. This prevents the constant opening and closing that would occur during periods of rain. Once an insect is caught, the Venus Fly Trap will close tightly around its meal and begin digesting it.

Learn more below
This is the most commonly asked question about feeding the Venus Fly Traps

"Can I feed my Venus Fly trap hamburger meat?"

No! Their fast food preferences are common flies and insects.  Hamburger meat is too fatty for a Venus Fly trap. It is best to feed them insects. If none are available? You can use general purpose fertilizer once a month at 1/3 strength.


How to keep your Venus Fly Trap healthy!

Location: Dioneae requires an area with as much humidity as possible. A terrarium is ideal. Select an area that has bright indirect light. Morning sun is usually OK, check for burning of foliage. Growing under Grow-Lux lamps is fine for 16 to 18 hours per day. Avoid humidity robbing drafts from heater and air conditioners. The ideal day temperature is between 65F to 80F degrees. Avoid excessive heat, especially at night!

Watering: Dioneae should not be allowed to dry out! For best results use distilled water or rain water. Tap water with low salt content is acceptable provided water is allowed to stand overnight, to remove the chlorine. It is very difficult to over water.

Feeding: Never feed any processed meats, including hamburger. Meats are too fatty. Venus fly traps require insects (which are low in cholesterol). Small flies, moths, are the most easily digested by the fly trap. Hard shell insects such as beetles are more difficult to digest and are not recommended. If you want to fertilize your fly trap instead of feeding it , use a 20-20-20, 1/4 strength once a month.

Transplanting: You can transplant your Venus Fly Trap with sphagnum moss, with a layer of perlite or gravel at the bottom of terrarium or pot. You should transplant every two years. It is best to transplant when the plant is dormant.

Dormancy: Fly Traps normally go dormant when the day length shortens and temperatures cool down to 40F-50F. It is recommend that you place your plant in a cool area away from direct sun in the winter months, so the Dioneae can go dormant. A spot in the refrigerator is fine, do not freeze! Your Venus Fly Trap will begin to start growing again in Mid February to early March.

Additional Information: A trap can only close three to four times before turning black. The speed in which the traps closes is based on temperature and light. Venus Fly Traps are an endangered species. We produce and sell only artificially propagated Dioneae plants. Fly traps flower in the spring producing one to eight flowers per stem.