can i feed flies to venus flytrap?

i tried a few times, the trap turned black afterwards.

try mosquitoes

Did the plant come with any feeding instructions? I'd imagine anyone who bought one would really have to read up on their care, since they really aren't like most plants we're familiar with.

Sounds like you might want to aquire a couple of gardening reference books. Maybe pick out one or two on houseplants and container gardening and another on other types of gardening your interested in? There's sooo much to know about nurturing plants, and sometimes it helps to just sit down and spend some time with one source that covers these topics in detail. (Of course, I'm a big fan of books - kind of addicted to them, actually.)

i bought it for 99 cents at a 99 cents store, i thought that maybe someone on here knows about this.

there are not a lot of insects flying around, so i fed it dead flies ;)

lol! dude, you just crack me up.

Most things at 99c stores cost 99c. Glad you didn't overpay. Have you tried sticking your finger down into one of the traps?

Hmmmm, young'n . . . am wondering if somehow some of your miracle gro quick start solution got on the Venus Flytrap. If so then perhaps it wasn't the fly which turned the Venus blossom black, but your Miracle Grow fertilizing which did.

You've got a lot of stuff turning black at your place. Scary! Halloween maybe? Maybe it's just a seasonal change taking place.

Twincol, you're smarter than I am. I didn't think about how the Venus flytrap flower turned black just like the plants exposed to the toxic Miracle Gro. For young'n to start raising carnivorous plants (if they don't turn black on him) might be the solution to his problem. Since they eat protein, Miracle Gro would be out of the question, since it's "chemical." And they would be cheap to feed. How long would a pound of ground meat last?

I wonder if he's related to Henny Youngman. That guy had a great sense of humor too. He could string people along for hours at a time.

well, they eat insects, flies are insects, too. and this plant is named as "flytrap".

Oh I couldn't resist this one ...youngman how old are you sweetie? ...did you know that each little trap only closes a small number of times and then dies? ...so don't worry about feeding them ...keep your fingers away from that trap ...I know I am being a party pooper ...put it somewhere near a light at night and it will get plenty to eat ...don't worry. You need to sit that plant in a bit of water all the time until it dies down ...sit the pot in a shallow dish of water.
Good luck ...

Oops yes don't feed them plantfood they live off the insects ...go get another one and try again ...check the plant files or a garden book ...or just google venus flytraps.

You can feed them flies but you don't have to. The traps DO turn black after a while, it's NORMAL. Flytraps get most of their food from SUNLIGHT. It should be outside in full sun until it gets near 40 degrees. It'll get all the bugs it can eat outside. It needs a winter dormancy period by the way or it will not last long.

here you go ..a link for you ...
http://www.botany.org/bsa/misc/carn.html
click on and enjoy.

These are basically bog plants, right? Anyone want to take odds on whether the 99c was well spent?

Yes that is why you sit them in water and grow them in an acid mix (plenty of peatmoss) ...they like warm conditions and don't require any fertilizer.

If he cares for it right it'll last a LONG time and multiply.

That's a big given.

I dont think miracle grow will help if you are attempting to revive "Little Shop of horrors"

Fertilizer will kill them.

Why are you interfering with the plant by feeding it every day, if you have that many flies around, the plant will feed themselves, IF you feed it then you are also making the plant use up too much energy, it's like someone holding your mouth open and force feeding you, when the traps are aging, they rot off and new ones should come up them self, they never need any plant food added as they get all the nutrients from the sunlight and the flies, every fly that lands on the plants are not eaten, the flies have to land on the right spot for the trap to close, so leave it alone, just give it water and good light, as Chrissy said, a light close to the plant in a darkened room will attract all the flies it can cope with, if you keep adding flies, dead or alive, then they will rot if the plant cant use them all up, this will cause the growing tips to rot also, leave it to feed when it feels like it.
WeeNel.

according to the package on the plant, it only needs indirect light, not direct sunlight at all.

VFTs need FULL sunlight. at least 8 hours a day during the growing season. The package is wrong.

Full sunlight plus flies that is, hmm dead flies need to be fresh! Don't know about frozen but they do thrive on maggot.
Easily available from fishing shops.

Jon.