Use carnivorous plants against fruit flies

Which carnivorous plants are suitable for fruit flies?

Fruit flies and mosquitoes can be controlled particularly well by three types of carnivore:

• Butterwort
• Sundew
• Venus flytrap

These plants are also quite suitable for beginners. They stay small and therefore also find space in a kitchen. However, a location that is as bright as possible must be found. In addition, the plant substrate must always be moist.

This is how the control by carnivorous plants works

The control of the fruit flies is done by keeping the insects on the sticky leaves of Butterwort and sundew stick. A secretion emerges with which fruit flies are digested, so that only the chitin shell and the legs remain.

the Venus flytrap forms so-called hinged traps that look a bit like trapping irons. If a fruit fly settles on the red inner part, the trap strikes in a fraction of a second and traps the prey.

The Venus flytrap then releases a secretion with which it digests its prey. This takes a few days, then the trap opens again. The latch dies after seven openings at the latest.

The infestation is only reduced, not eliminated

Unfortunately, a strong infestation with fruit flies cannot be eliminated by carnivorous plants alone. The traps of the plants have only a limited capacity. Often only one insect is digested at a time.

the digestion takes several days, only then can the next prey be caught. In the meantime, the fruit flies have mostly reproduced vigorously again.

The prey must not be too big

What works with fruit flies works with larger prey like To fly not. These insects are usually too big for the traps. If insects that are too large are caught, the trapping leaves and traps die prematurely.

At most very large carnivorous plants like that Pitcher plant or the pitcher plant with hers Chalice are big enough to digest a fly.