Can Venus Fly Traps Eat Stink Bugs?

Out of all the things you can feed your venus fly trap, you may also be wondering whether stink bugs are on the menu or not. So keep reading to find out if your venus fly traps can actually eat stink bugs or if it’s better to avoid them!

Can Venus Fly Traps Eat Stink Bugs?

It’s best to avoid feeding your venus fly trap stink bugs and feed them other bugs instead. Most stink bugs are going to be too big for your Venus flytrap, and if it can’t get a solid seal when it closes, then bacteria can get in.

On top of this, stink bugs have a hard exoskeleton that your Venus flytrap may have trouble digesting as well.

If you do plan on feeding your Venus flytrap a stink bug, then you should make sure that it’s incredibly small, so you increase the likelihood of it being digested properly.

Closeup of green Venus flytrap, carnivorous plant, on the background of moss at greenhouse of Botanical Garden

What Can You Feed Them Instead?

Fortunately, while you should probably avoid feeding your Venus flytrap a stink bug, there are plenty of other insects you can feed them instead! Once again, though, the type of insect you should feed them is going to depend entirely on the size of your plant.

Small Venus Flytraps

If you have a small venus fly trap, then you should make sure you’re feeding them critters small enough for them to enclose around fully.

Some great choices for this are:

  • Ants
  • Baby grasshoppers
  • Pill bugs
  • Small spiders
  • Rehydrated Bloodworms

Large Venus Flytraps

Once your Venus flytrap is larger, your options for feeding them are going to increase as well! So on top of everything listed above, you can also try to feed them the following:

  • Crickets
  • Millipedes
  • Suitably sized slugs
  • Mealworms

And if you’re planning on feeding your Venus flytrap dead animals, then you’ll need to replicate the motion of a live insect. Therefore, once you’ve put the insect into your Venus flytrap, gently touch the trigger hairs to get it to shut. Once it’s half shut, you’ll need to gently squeeze the two halves together to get them to shut fully.

Other Food To Avoid Feeding Your Venus Flytrap

Now you know all the different food that is great for your Venus flytrap, there’s some food you’re definitely going to want to avoid.

Any sort of human food is definitely out of the question. Instead, you should stick to food that a Venus flytrap could naturally eat in the wild. And also, remember not to overfeed your Venus flytrap as this could also result in ailments in your plant.

Recap

As you can see, while you should avoid feeding your Venus flytrap stink bugs, there are plenty of other choices of food you can consider offering them instead! If you liked this article, make sure you check out the rest of the website! Otherwise, have a great day!

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