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New owner questions

Hi, I have a Venus Fly Trap (Green Dragon) and a Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea) coming from this website in a few days, and I have a few questions. The plants are going on my windowsill in my room.

1) How well do the two plants attract ants? I've currently got a moderate ant problem in my room, and the little buggers won't go for the traps I have set up. Will the Pitcher Plant attract them as well as, say a glass of orange juice? (I used to have a glass of orange juice in my room before I went to bed, and when I'd wake up, there'd be at least 6-8 ants in the empty glass).

2) The only window in my room faces to the south, so I only get indirect light. This is compounded by the fact that an overcast sky is a common occurance where I live (South Florida). I was going to get a grow lamp to make sure they get enough light, and I wanted to know what kind of bulb I should get, and if the grow lamp would keep them healthy.

Thanks for your help.  
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Hi VindicatoR.. Welcome to the forums...

Dont count too heavily on VFTs or Sarrs to control your ant problem. First there is the water tray which generally prevents ants from reaching the pots. Second VFTs are not really designed to catch such small prey, they may grab a few while they are very small, but in a short time the traps will be too large to effectively capture ants. Also ants are not really a good food for VFTs. Generally ants are so much smaller than the traps, that the energy it takes to catch and digest them is greater than the nutrients they will recieve. As for the south window, while I personally recommend full sun outdoors, they can be grown successfully indoors with supplemental lighting. A clamp light with a large reflective hood (available at any hardware store for about 8-10 bucks) with a compact flourescent bulb will serve nicely. Be sure to get a "full spectrum" or "cool white" bulb. Do not use incandescant (regular light bulbs)  and avoid if possible flourescents labeled as "warm white" these bulbs do not provide adequate light for the plants.
Be sure to read thoroughly the care sheet that will be included with your order. PFT takes great care to provide you with quality information on the cultivation of the plants they sell.

For more information please check out the FAQ pages here: http://www.sarracenia.com/faq.html
Also Goldtrap has a nice care sheet pinned at the top of this forum.

Good luck with your plants
Steve
 
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