Content
- Meat-eating plants to use against fruit flies
- Which meat-eating plants are suitable for fruit flies?
- This is how fighting with carnivorous plants works
- The infestation is only reduced, not eliminated
- The prey animals must not be too big
- Tips
The Venus trap is well suited for the control of fruit flies
Meat-eating plants to use against fruit flies
Fruit flies like to whiz through the kitchen in the summer when fruits and vegetables are stored there. In order to combat the annoying little insects, it is often advised to eat meat-free plants. Which carnivores are suitable for combating fruit flies.
Which meat-eating plants are suitable for fruit flies?
Fruit flies and even mosquitoes can be combated particularly well by three types of carnivores:
These plants are also quite suitable for beginners. They stay small and thus find space in a kitchen. However, as bright a location as possible must be found. In addition, the plant substrate must always be moist.
This is how fighting with carnivorous plants works
Fighting fruit flies is done by sticking the insects on the sticky leaves of butterwort and sundew. It excretes a secretion, are digested with the fruit flies, so that only the Chitinpanzer and the legs remain.
The Venus flytrap forms so-called flap-trap, which look a bit like catching iron. If a fruit fly settles on the red inner part, the trap beats in a fraction of a second and closes the prey.
Then the venus flytrap releases a secretion, with which she digests her prey. This takes a few days, then the trap opens again. After at the latest seven openings the folding trap dies.
The infestation is only reduced, not eliminated
Unfortunately, a strong infestation with fruit flies can not be eliminated only by carnivorous plants. The traps of the plants have only a limited capacity. Often only one insect is digested at a time.
The digestion lasts several days, only then can the next prey be caught. In the meantime, the fruit flies have mostly reproduced vigorously.
The prey animals must not be too big
What works with fruit flies does not work for larger prey such as flies. These insects are usually too big for the traps. If too large insects are caught, the catches and traps will die prematurely.
At most, very large carnivorous plants such as the pitcher plant or the tube plant with its goblet are large enough to digest a fly.
Tips
Meat-eating plants can cope even if there are no insects whizzing around in the room, such as in winter. They then derive their nutrients from the substrate and the stores they have created in their leaves.