FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Ok so my flytrap is starting to look sick i fed it a whole bunch of flies when i first got it and now they opened and one of em i fed a june bug too and then it started to get black spots on the trap that had the june bug. Are june bugs poisonous???? and the black spots grew and the whole trap turned black and a new trap that finaly opened wont even sense that the fly is there so it wont shut and im hopelessly confused. It is in direct sunlight for 2 to 4 hours a day and indirect the rest of the time. it is at a temperature from 75 to 85 and not very humid. and it is in a super tiny wind from my fan but it cant be 3 mph wind so it probably does nothing it is in a glass bowl and being fed the distilled water at room temperature and it is only a couple months old it also is watered so the soil is always wet am i watering it too much? what am i doing wrong? i rly dont want to kill my flytrap that would suck plzzzz help!!!????

Less water, a drainage hole, preferably out of a terrarium, more light, and don't push it. Let the Flytrap grow conservatively until it is bursting with health. Don't overdose it when it's drowning and weak. This is just snap-judgment advice. Others will give you more detailed and explained advice, and posting a photo would help a lot, so please do that if you can (but shrink it first with http://www.resizemypicture.com/ or http://www.shrinkpictures.com/

ill get the photoes as soon as i can
and i have a question how do you get the flytraps to grow with so much crimson color??????

seth1161 wrote:ill get the photoes as soon as i can
and i have a question how do you get the flytraps to grow with so much crimson color??????

Plenty of sun and let them stay open awhile after forming, before closing on an insect or whatever. There are probably other factors. It still seems a little mysterious to most of us, I think.

Whoa man, it's cool! Take a deep breath...ok...feel better, lol?!

I have learned that bugs with harder shells/exoskeletons are probably not the best things to feed them. Really, you don't NEED to feed them cause eating bugs happens to be their specialty...But if you DO feed them a bug or two every now and again...make sure it is a softer insect and is around 1/3 the total size of the trap itself. Don't worry, if the trap has turned black, remove it gently and move on..it will be fine.

You should also probably put it in a pot vs. a glass bowl...and in that pot you should put the standard 50/50 mix of sphagnum peat/perlite. I personally top water my plants, but alot of people on here do the tray method, as long as you are careful and don't overdo it either way is fine.

When you first pot, get your media good and wet...from there, keep it moist NOT soggy and never let it completely dry.

USE ONLY REVERSE OSMOSIS, DISTILLED, OR RAIN WATER...AND NO PLANT FOOD, AND NO MIRACLE GRO PRODUCTS OF ANY KIND!!! Use only pure organic media that is NOT enriched with any kind of fertilizer or plant food, cause that stuff will kill you plants.

If you keep them inside, it is all about a south facing window. If they are outside which is best...make sure it gets as much sun as possible and keep an eye out so it doesnt get too hot during summer.

I think that just about covers it for now...so if you are not doing these things take heed!

Don't sweat it too much, i have went through a good bit of trial and error myself, but you'll be fine if you follow some pretty basic and easy to follow guidelines.

Hope that helps man.

uhh i dont think i explaned it correctly its still in the plastic pot and the pot is in a glass bowl so i water in the bowl and it gets absorbed through the bottom of the cup

and where should i set it??????? i live in seal beach southern california so it doesnt exactly help to put it outside cuz it can get super hot and super cold and windy and dry and humid its like playing a slot machine so where should i set it??? for max sunlight

You can put it in a south side window or an east side window, or if you really want to keep it inside you could buy a fluorescent bulb from the store to put in a lamp and set the trap underneath it if you like, some are pretty cheap too.

what i think is that you are feeding it way too much because it is a few months old. 75-85 degrees is good. it doesnt need to be humid, right. i dont get why you cant just move the plant way from your fan.....
just bring the plant in or out if you feel it is right, and bring it in when it is windy....
hope tis helps

well.. i grow my Flytraps outdoors even in the winter i live in Northwestern New Mexico on the Navajo Reservation! its get's over 90F here alot during the summer.. and there is hardly any humidity but i keep the soil cool so the roots won't over heat! ..and it goes below freezing during the winter but i protect my plants form frost by covering them with a black tarp and bubble wrap. If you give your plant just the basic THree (Sunlight, Soil, Water) it will thrive!

Allen,