--- title: "How to feed Venus’ Flytraps Feeding these interesting species of…" description: "How to feed Venus’ Flytraps Feeding these interesting species of plants can be difficult. A normal plants’ food would consist of WATER, C02, and LIGHT. These…" url: "https://getplanta.com/community/lZ7uAE3pQ86jnFGxrCwLrg/646cb66ab5f2d2c4cf54650c" community: "Anything about plants" author: "Fern <3" published: "2023-05-23T12:49:46.226Z" language: "en" image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/HUM7Gz4nIjIKmTEJm79CdvnN1yI_ZjEc-lHnvvKnjBQ/46e8165cb5744ab6bb27f98e567415a7.webp?size=large" --- [Community](https://getplanta.com/community.md) / [Anything about plants](https://getplanta.com/community/lZ7uAE3pQ86jnFGxrCwLrg.md) # How to feed Venus’ Flytraps Feeding these interesting species of… _Posted by Fern \<3 on 2023-05-23_ How to feed Venus’ Flytraps Feeding these interesting species of plants can be difficult. A normal plants’ food would consist of WATER, C02, and LIGHT. These things are very beneficial to ALL plants, but the Venus’ Flytrap has another great recourse. These biting plants loathe nutrient-rich soil and water, mainly because they can “OVER-FERTILIZE” or “BURN” your Venus’ Flytrap’s roots. Because of this occurring, Venus’ Flytraps need to get their nutrients from somewhere… but where? Not where, but WHAT? What do they get their protein and nutrients from? BUGS! Yes, that’s right, bugs! How do your traps get those bugs, you ask? Well, each trap, or “MOUTH” has six little “TRIGGER HAIRS” as we call them, 3 on each side. When a bug flies or crawls into the Venus’ Flytrap’s mouth, they must strike two hairs, or one, twice quick. When or if they do, the trap will SNAP! If the trap doesn’t open in 30 minutes, DO NOT WORRY! It will take almost a week in order for them to open back up. Please do not stick your finger in the trap, because it wastes valuable energy. EACH “MOUTH” CAN ONLY EAT 4 TIMES BEFORE IT DIES, so triggering a “FALSE ALARM” will over time, kill the single trap. Now, onto how to feed your Venus’ Flytrap dead bugs. I do not recommend feeding your plant dead bugs, as it is a difficult process. But many do not like handling live bugs, so it is an option. Drop the dead bug into the trap, and then touch two of the hairs inside quickly. For a minute or two after the trap closes, lightly massage the trap. (Another reason I do not like feeding my traps dead bugs is because of this. Over time, this can bruise the leaves.) Come back every 1 minute for the next 10 and for 30 seconds, massage the leaves. If your trap opens up after or within a day, the digestion has been unsuccessful. You may have to try again, or just get used to feeding your trap live bugs. Feeding is only necessary if your Venus’ Flytrap is indoors, as it can catch it’s own outdoors. Hope you have luck with your existing or future Venus’ Flytrap! Get me to 15 likes and I will release some info/pictures of my other plants! ![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/HUM7Gz4nIjIKmTEJm79CdvnN1yI_ZjEc-lHnvvKnjBQ/46e8165cb5744ab6bb27f98e567415a7.webp?size=large) ## 7 comments ### Fern \<3 commented on 2023-05-23 This is my newest Venus’ Flytrap. #### Fern \<3 replied on 2023-05-23 It’s a long process, I believe I posted a thing on how to, but many times the process is unsuccessful. They need the movement of the bugs in order to digest it. ### Lotus biscuits commented on 2023-05-23 I love your new venus fly trap! ### Fern \<3 commented on 2023-05-23 When I got back from vacay., it had mold on the soil, but it’s fine now. ### Rainy commented on 2023-05-24 How often do they need to be fed? #### Fern \<3 replied on 2023-05-24 Feed one trap every 3-6 weeks. ### Rena commented on 2026-07-27 Hi! So how do you feed fly trap seedlings? I have about 15 that I started from seed and the biggest plant is about 0.5 cm across. It does have two very very tiny traps-about 1 mm across. Do you fertilize/feed them? If so, how and with what? Thanks for the info! --- _Source: the Planta community (https://getplanta.com). Reading is open to everyone. To post, comment and like, get the Planta app: https://getplanta.com/download_