Venus Flytrap Plant Diseases And Pests Issues
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Venus flytraps are plants that eat soft insects and are considered carnivores. When an insect lands on its sensitive hairs inside its hinged trap, the Venus flytrap senses that bug and then eats it. The trap produces a fluid when closed, which essentially digests the insect. Even though it may not be susceptible to certain diseases that other carnivorous plants are, it can still have some issues just like the common, Venus flytrap plant diseases and pests.
Venus Flytrap Plant Pests
The Venus flytrap can have issues with certain pests that are too small for it to sense.
These pests can cause all kinds of different damage to your plant.
Such pests include:
These little bugs can harm your plant and can be annoying to you and your Venus flytrap. However, they will not kill your plant, only damage or annoy it.
1) Aphids
Aphids cause your plant’s leaves to become distorted around its crown. However, this is not deadly, just a bit of a nuisance.
To cure your plant of its aphid infestation, you need to place your plant in water for a couple of days. Take the plant out of the water for a week, and then repeat the process until the aphids are gone.
If your Venus flytrap has a severe infestation of aphids, you need to use either horticultural oils or insecticidal soaps to gain control over these aphids running rampant on your plant.
2) Fungus Gnats
These gnats can be annoying to your Venus flytrap in their adulthood; however, its larvae can cause a lot of damage, especially on the younger plants. Their larvae dig into the plant stems and eat any leaves that fall on the surface of the plant’s pot.
They may also cause damage to your plant’s roots, which can lead to infections from fungal pathogens. To control the infestation of fungus gnats, you can use Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt. You apply this by drenching the soil, which results in the deaths of the gnat larvae.
To prevent attracting these fungus bugs to your plant, make sure you keep the Venus flytrap in somewhat moist soil, however, do not make it soggy. The wetter the plant is, the more likely it will attract the fungus gnats to feed on it. These gnats will go after peaty soils that have fungal growth, so not over watering your plant is the way to prevent them from harming it.
Venus Flytrap Plant Diseases
The Venus flytrap can contract gray mold, or Botrytis cinerea when its leaves are always too moist. If your Venus flytrap has gray mold, it will look like mold that can be found on expired bread. Usually, the first thing you will notice will be water-soaked spots on its stems or leaves. The parts of the plant that are affected by this gray mold will wilt and fall off of your Venus flytrap.
If your plant is in high humidity and has moist soil, the likelihood of getting fungal infections increases and can develop the spores or threads, this can cause infection spreading and making your plant sick. To prevent the infection from spreading, make sure you clean up any dead leaves or debris from your plant. Keeping its leaves dry is very important, so give your plant a lot of warmth, light, and air circulation to prevent it from getting too moist.
If your plant is already sick with this gray mold infection, you need to cut off any infected parts of the Venus flytrap and the soil or pot so it will not spread the infection to other parts of the plant.
Here’s another article related to Venus Flytrap common issues. Check it Out >>
Feeding and Other Issues
Your Venus flytrap prefers smaller insects, like flies and spiders. However, if the plant is fed insects that are too large for it to digest, the bug inside of it will end up rotting, which makes the Venus flytrap’s trap turn black. If this happens due to insects that are too big, you need to remove and throw away the black traps.
Most Venus flytraps have their traps turn black as they age, which happens when the older leaves are being replaced with newer ones. However, when overfed and even occurring naturally, you need to get rid of any of these black traps you see. Do not feed your Venus flytrap any meat whatsoever, because it can end up rotting the trap and use up the plant’s energy. Also, avoid fertilizers, as these can burn the Venus flytrap’s roots and cause it to die.
When you find small leaves or long floppy leaves on your plant, this is a sign that your Venus flytrap needs more sunlight. These plants need sunlight for 14 hours or more daily. You can even use fluorescent lights if they are indoor plants. If a Venus flytrap closes its trap very slowly, this is a sign that the plant is sluggish and cold. You need to keep your plant at 80 degrees Fahrenheit to make sure it says “awake” and energetic.
