Too many questions.

[SativaKing]

Its been 3 weeks, I think, and my vft is doing pretty good so far. Red mouths. But I got a few questions I cant find anwsers to in the FAQs and forum threads.

1st. Sometimes I kill spiders using compressed air spray upside down. Its those cans you buy to clean computer cases. When you turn them upside down and you spray the spider they freeze and then die. Is this safe to feed the plant after doing this?

2nd. I always close my traps on accident. I accidently closed 6 traps since I had the plant. How much damage to growth has it done?

3rd. Is there some insect energy from the insect = the energy it takes to close the plant. In other words, is it really worth while to feed tiny bugs to the plant if it takes more to close to the trap then the nutrients the plant takes. One will not run 15 miles to have a glass of water.

4th. Can I grow my VFT all year long in Los Angeles weather? I hear you might not need to store it in the fridge.

5th. I use the tray method of feeding. Im thinking it might be a good idea to top water once in a while. This might help the humdity. Any truth to this?

Thats it.

 

[PlantAKiss]

Hi SativaKing

I don't know about the compressed air question. Where do you keep your VFT? If you keep it outdoors you won't have to worry about feeding it...it will take care of itself.

Don't worry too much about the closed traps. Try to avoid accidental triggering as much as possible but it does happen. Even rain can trigger a trap to close. Its not going to die just because a few traps have shut. But keep those accidents to a minimum!

How tiny is "tiny bugs"? If they are REAL tiny (like a gnat), I don't think the plant would get much out of it. But remember, in nature, they might catch something real small or sometimes something too big. The general rule is a bug approximately 1/3 to 1/2 the size of the trap...so nothing hangs out and invites bacterial rot.

Your flytrap MUST have dormancy. Even though weatherwise you CAN grow it all year long, that will kill it. Since you don't have cold winters, you will have to refrigerate for 3-4 months starting around Thanksgiving in the fall. I don't have to do that, so someone else can tell you the best way to do that.

I think you meant watering instead of feeding.

I top-water mine with no problems (remember, they are rained on in their native environment). Mine are in saucers with water as well. Sometimes I give them a mist bath just to get rid of dirt and stuff on the plants. Humidity shouldn't be too much of an issue if you keep the soil wet and the pot in a saucer of water. Only if it is reeeaaally dry where you live should you have worry about supplementing the humidity.

Hope I helped you a bit.

Suzanne

 

[timbudtwo]

the anwser to the compressed air question is, yes, its completely fine, all it is is a chemical that evaporates very quickly and is a liquid when it comes out because it dosent have the time to turn into a gas when is right side up. Tho, there are a few that are toxic. Make sure it says non toxic, or check the ingrediants for a long one with lots of numbers in it begining with a t!

 

[Leo]

In answer to #3, in my limited experience, I found that the traps are not triggered when the bug is too small (e.g. fungus knats, baby spiders). I think that's nature's way of selecting what's worth eating and what's not, so perhaps you can just use that as a measure. If you have to manually trigger the trap, the bug prolly not worth it. IMHO

 

[SativaKing]

I always thought those spiders died from some chemical. Thats pretty cool I can "take care" of them by freezing them. Much more humane.

As far as the size of the insects, its about 1/15th of the trap. I think the are the bugs that came with my plant. It can walk on water, tiny, black and sort reminds you of a booger. A very small one.

 

[Alvin Meister]

If you feed your plants dead spiders, it won't digest them because the trigger hairs need to be triggered once the trap is shut. That way, the plant knows if it's caught something alive and to digest it, or something inanimate and to open again.

 

[Guest]

1) I guess that I have to go with Bud. But you want the bugs to be alive in order for the plant to eat. So if you freeze them, make sure they are still alive.
I have recommended taking crickets and placing them in the freezer for 30 seconds, just to slow them down. But not kill them.

2) The only 'damage' that is done to the traps are that about after 3-5 times, the traps will stop to function. As long as you have new traps forming you are ok. If the traps stop closing or are slow to respond, that means that they are at the end of their life cycle.

Don't cut them off, but allow them to help the plant ( via photosynthesis ). The trap will now become a 'regular leaf'.

3)All bugs that are caught by the plant are cnsumed as a food ( well at least their nutrients ). The trap though will not close unless the bug is big enough to trigger the traps. ( dead ones will not work ).

And with the size of the bug...

You want to make sure that the bug is about 3/4 the size of the trap. The trap needs to completely close over the insect. If this does not happen, there now becomes a chance of bacteria getting in the trap and upsetting it stomach ( killing the trap ). If this happens, just cut off the trap but leave the stem.

4) The plant needs a dormancy period. If it does not get one, the plant will likely die within a couple of years. As long as temperatures get into the low 40'-30's ( without freezing ), you can leave your plant outdorrs in LA. If winter temps dont' get that cold, you will need to resort to some other method ( the fridge ).

5) I would not recommend watering from the top. I do not believe it to help with humidity. There is a chance that the plant might rot. Watering from the top, you get water between the leaves, crown which could rot the leaves or the crown. This might kill the plant.

I know that in nature it rains on the plants, but we are not in nature. We have taken these plants into our homes, and we want to do whatever we can to keep them alive. And with that, reduce every risk of killing them.

I also believe that humidity isn't a big factor with these plants. Keeping it around 50% should be fine.

If you are in LA, the humidity ( I think being by the coast ) would be high enough to not need any more

 

[Coma]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Quote: from Alvin Meister on 7:55 am on May 28, 2002
If you feed your plants dead spiders, it won't digest them because the trigger hairs need to be triggered once the trap is shut. That way, the plant knows if it's caught something alive and to digest it, or something inanimate and to open again.
[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
spiders any other bugs dead isnt a good idea wonder how i found that out