As the name suggests, Venus Flytraps thrive off a diet of flies, bugs and other small insects.

If you keep your Venus Flytrap outdoors, they will catch plenty of food. On the other hand, if you’re growing a flytrap indoors, you might need to feed your plant with a suitable food source.

With so much conflicting information on the diet of a Venus Flytrap, we have put together this simple guide to answer the question – “What do Venus Flytraps eat?”.

So.. What do Venus Flytraps eat?

In their natural habitat, Venus Flytraps eat a combination of flies and other small bugs and insects. You should avoid feeding them any human food and as this can cause them to rot. If you need to feed your plant, make sure that you feed your plant an insect of a suitable size.

When feeding your Venus Flytrap, follow these rules:

• NEVER feed your Venus Flytrap any human food
• During dormancy (winter), you don’t have to feed your plant at all
• Don’t force-feed your Flytrap live food
• If you’re feeding your flytrap non-living food, massage the trap gently to imitate insect movement to the plan
• Never give a flytrap food that’s bigger than approximately 1/3 the size of the trap

In this article, we will discuss the Venus Flytraps diet in more detail.

What Do Venus Flytraps Eat?

A Venus Flytraps diet isn’t just limited to flies.

In their natural habitat, Venus Flytraps eat a combination of flies and other bugs including crickets, ants, small beetles, grasshoppers, spiders, millipedes and other small insects.

Can You Feed Your Venus Flytrap?

Yes, you can feed your Venus Flytrap.

In the wild Venus Flytraps eat a combination of flies and other small bugs and insects. If your Venus Flytrap is kept indoors and hasn’t caught any prey in a while, you can feed it a suitable food source.

How To Feed Your Venus Flytrap

After discovering what Venus Flytraps eat, it’s time to learn how to safely feed your Venus Flytrap.

When it comes to feeding your Venus Flytrap you have two options.

The first option is feeding it a live fly. If you grow your fly trap inside a terrarium, the easiest way to feed your Venus Flytrap is to release flies inside the terrarium. It’s only a matter of time until the fly is attracted to your trap and consumed.

The second option is to feed your Flytrap with a dead bug or insect. We recommend doing this with either a toothpick or small pair of tweezers.

If you need to feed your Flytrap, be careful not to damage it or cause it to close without food. If your trap closes without food, you’re effectively starving the plant and forcing it to use energy. This will harm your flytrap by stunting its growth or worse.

Best Venus Flytrap Food

If your Venus Flytrap is kept inside, you should consider buying some food. Below we will discuss the best Venus Flytrap foods available on the market.

Dried Mealworms

Dried mealworms are a great alternative food source for your Venus Flytrap. They are full of vitamins and mineral for your plant.

Why we recommend Fluker’s Dried Mealworms for Venus Flytraps:

• Fluker’s Dried Mealworms are a high-quality all-natural product
• The worms are the perfect size to feed your Venus Flytrap
• They are an awesome source of minerals, vitamins and other nutrients

Freeze Dried Bloodworms

Bloodworms are a fantastic alternative food for Venus Flytraps. They are suitable for younger venus flytraps, as they are smaller than mealworms and bloodworms.

Why we recommend Freeze Dried Bloodworms for Venus Flytraps:

• The freeze-drying process maintains the original texture, taste and nutrition of the bloodworms.
• They contain 100% Bloodworms. No added chemicals!
• They are the perfect size for your Venus Flytrap.

Crickets

Freeze-dried crickets are a great alternative food source for Venus Flytraps. Crickets are slightly larger than bloodworms and mealworms. We recommend feeding crickets to larger Venus Flytraps.

Why we recommend Premium Dehydrated Crickets for Venus Flytraps:

• The pack contains full-body crickets, full of nutrients.
• They are suitable for larger Venus Flytraps.
• The crickets are fed a high-quality diet of grains, proteins, and vegetables.

Can You Feed Venus Flytraps Live Food?

Whilst it might be tempting to feed your Venus Flytrap live food, we don’t recommend it.

Crickets can move quickly and easily escape from your Venus Flytrap, whilst mealworms can burrow out of your trap and cause damage.

Ultimately, it makes no nutritional difference and is less hassle to feed your Venus Flytrap freeze-dried alternatives to live food.

What To Not Feed Your Venus Flytrap!

Never give your Venus Flytrap anything that it can’t catch naturally.

Avoid giving your Venus Flytrap any human food, like meat or dairy products. Your plant will not be able to digest human food, and it can cause the leaf to rot and die. If you’re going to feed your Venus Flytrap, you should feed it freeze-dried bugs such as bloodworms, mealworms or crickets.

Summary: What Do Venus Flytraps Eat?

So, What Do Venus Flytraps Eat?

In their natural habitats, Venus Flytraps eat a combination of flies and other small bugs and insects.

You should avoid feeding your Venus Flytrap any human food as well as live bug and insects.

If you keep your plant indoors, you might need to feed it an appropriate food source. We recommend buying freeze-dried mealworms, bloodworms or crickets.

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