Care Sheets

Care tips for many of the pests and diseases that can plague our favorite plants.

Insects

Insects such as mealy bugs, thrips, and aphids are additional pests that can affect your carnivorous plants. These pests feed on the plants' leaves and stems, which can eventually kill the plant. If you see any of these pests on your plants, you should take steps to eliminate them as soon as possible. One organic control method for these pests is neem oil. Neem oil is a natural pesticide that can be sprayed on the plants to kill the insects. If neem oil does not work, you may need to consider insecticides. When using insecticides, it is important to know the mode of action of the insecticide. You will probably find that insects can usually be controlled a bit easier than mites.

Fungus & Disease

Root rot and crown rot are diseases that can affect Venus flytraps. They are usually caused by overwatering and poor air circulation, which is often the case when these plants are grown in terrariums or other closed-in spaces. Fungi such as White Mold, Powdery Mold, Botrytis and Rhizoctonia can also affect Venus flytraps, especially in humid environments with poor air circulation. Signs of fungal infection include dark, necrotic lesions on the leaves. There are fungicides and algaecides that can help in these cases as well.

Spider Mites

Spider mites are a Venus Fly Trap's sneaky adversary. They feast on plant cells, causing discoloration and potential demise of the plant. Care usually consists of a rotation of miticides or utilization of organic methods. Both are controls and not cures. Mites notoriously develop tolerances to various control methods quickly. Neem oil and predatory mites are your organic go-to, while miticides like Avid pack a punch for severe cases. When using miticides, the key lies in multiple treatments and a rotation of the miticides used. For example: If using Avid, spray three times, three days apart each. Then switch to another like Floramite and repeat the process. It's important to follow the product instructions and know the mode of action. Some miticides are systemic and some only kill on contact. Some kill eggs, and some only target the living mite. To prevent spider mites, keep your humidity high and your dust low. Spider mites despise clean plants.

Pest and Disease Control for Venus Flytraps

Fungus Gnats

Fungus gnats are small flying insects that can be a nuisance to indoor plants, especially Venus fly traps. Fortunately, there are several ways to get rid of fungus gnats. One approach is to use sticky traps to catch the gnats. Sticky traps are commercially available, or you can make your own by coating a piece of cardboard with petroleum jelly. Another approach is to buy a sundew plant, which is also carnivorous and will eat fungus gnats. Finally, you can use a biological larvicide like Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) to target the larvae, not the adults, without harming the plant. The best way to use BT is to make a tea with it for 24 hours, filter off the particles, and then top-water your plants. Do this at least three times, four days apart, to kill the entire life cycle of the gnat. If you are still seeing adults, continue the treatment at four-day intervals until you no longer see the adults, and then do one more treatment. BT can be found in products like "Mosquito Bits."

Products Safe for Venus Flytraps

Miticides

Insecticides

Fungicides & Algaecides

• Bio Advanced 3 in 1 - Insect, Disease & Mite Control

• Ortho MAX Garden Disease Control Concentrate

• Daconil Fungicide Concentrate

• SCOTT's Disease EX

• Physan (algaecide)

• Bio Advanced 3 in 1 - Insect, Disease & Mite Control

• Ortho 3 in 1 - For small plants

• Orthene

  • One note on Orthene, it is an effective systemic that can also treat the soil, but beware that this product has a very intense odor.

• Bio Advanced 3 in 1 - Insect, Disease & Mite Control

• Avid Miticide

• Floramite Miticide

• TetraSan Miticide

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my Venus Flytrap skip dormancy?

It is advisable to ensure that Venus Flytraps are not deprived of their dormancy period for the best growing experience, as stated in the care sheets. An exception to this rule is for plants that are less than one year old. Many growers choose to keep young plants out of dormancy for the first year, although there is no evidence to suggest that this has any significant benefit.

There is mold and moss growing on the dirt around my Venus Flytrap. Will this harm my plant and how can I get rid of it?

If there is mold growing on the dirt and moss around your Venus flytrap, it is likely that the plant is being kept in an environment with excessively high humidity and poor air flow, and it is probably being kept too wet. Despite common myths, Venus flytraps do not need extremely high humidity levels and they do not thrive in soaking wet soil. To address this issue, ensure good air circulation around the plant and reduce the amount of water given to it. The soil should have the moisture level of a wet kitchen sponge that has been squeezed. In severe cases, repotting may be necessary.

When is the growing season for a Venus Flytrap?

In the northern hemisphere, Venus Flytrap plants typically emerge from dormancy around mid-February and go dormant again around the end of October. The decrease in daylight hours and cooler temperatures in late October signal the start of dormancy. Around mid-February, as the days start getting longer, the plant begins to grow again, although the growth will be slow until the daylight hours increase.

Can I fertilize my Venus Flytrap?

Venus Flytraps are often accidentally killed when beginner growers fertilize them. This usually happens because they allow too many minerals and chemicals to get into the soil, which burns the roots and kills the plant. Therefore, I recommend not fertilizing at all until you are quite comfortable growing these plants. Experienced growers occasionally fertilize flytraps using special techniques, such as foliar feeding with specific and heavily diluted fertilizers, like MaxSea. However, this is not really necessary. The plant can get all the nutrition it needs from the sun through photosynthesis. Sunlight is their "food," and bugs are their "fertilizer." If grown outside they will "hunt" by sending out attractants from their traps for insects. These insects are better fertilizer than any substitute.

The traps on my Venus Flytrap were triggered without any food in them. How long will they stay closed?

When traps are triggered without any live capture in them, they will reopen within a day or two. The warmer the climate where the Venus flytrap is being kept, the sooner it will reopen. Flytraps are often triggered without capturing prey, sometimes by raindrops, other times because the prey escaped the trap. This will not cause the plant to die. Once a trap has opened and closed several times it will begin to decline and die whether due to catching prey or just opening and closing empty.

I saw a beautiful blue Venus Flytrap online but that's not what I received. Where can I get one of these?

Please be aware of scams involving "blue Venus flytraps for sale" on the internet. It's important to note that all blue Venus flytraps are fake. While it might seem exciting to think that these colorful plants exist, Venus flytraps only come in shades of green and red. Although variations and intensities of these colors exist, it's crucial to be cautious when looking for uniquely colored Dionaea muscipula. There are also numerous scams involving "Venus flytrap seeds for sale" on the internet. The only solution to this problem is to buy your flytraps and seeds from reputable online or local nurseries.

Will the plants I order be shipped bare-root or potted?

Your order will be carefully packaged and shipped without soil ("bare-root"). If you require your plant to be shipped with soil ("potted"), please contact us at seaislandsnaptraps@gmail.com before placing your order, so that we can work together to meet your needs. Once the order has been processed, the plants will be packaged as usual. Thank you for your understanding.