Successful fungus gnat traps - DIY project

[slc]

Originally Posted by Joseia

I've always wondered: what do you feed those plants if you don't have enough bugs for them?

I read that you can mix fish food flakes into a paste and put a tiny dab of it on the plant with a toothpick.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by Joseia

I've always wondered: what do you feed those plants if you don't have enough bugs for them?

Originally Posted by kindrag23

Plant fertilizer. I catch grasshoppers. Retribution! Little mealymunchers!!!

They really don't need a "gi-normous" amount of prey items. They do have chlorophyll, afterall, so they do produce their own food like any other green plant. Insects are simply a nutritional supplement which does result in more vigorous growth. So whatever bugs it catches will likely be enough. No real cause to fret.

Unfortunately, Kin's suggestion of catching grasshoppers would not work out for dews. Grasshoppers are too big and strong for them. Now for any of the pitcher plants -- Nepenthes or Sarracenia -- the grasshopper idea would work.

Some folks do occasionally foliar feed their cps with a very dilute solution of fertilizer. However, this would be an area in which you would want to have several plants in order to experiment. Some do well with such a regimen, others croak.

Now that said, I have occasionally fed mine some crushed dried bloodworms. (A common fish food found at any pet store.)

Originally Posted by Island Girl

....But, if your parents drink it, maybe they could spare some for the gnats/flies? Gotta be Riesling tho, (its a white wine, and it's one of the sweeter wines), Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc (sp?), etc. don't work... They seem to like the sweet stuff... Although I haven't tried Pinot Gris yet.

Another possibility might be ("might" because I have never tried it) a sweet sugar solution with yeast added. If the fermentation gasses draw them, then perhaps as the yeast goes to town on the sugars in the solution the gnats might still be drawn into the trap.

Originally Posted by Island Girl

Paul, I would LOVE to know where to get a couple sundews from... I can't find them :'( Anywhere that you would recommend please? Thanks!!!

I will first caution one and all to do some research before buying any cp. Some of the dews (Drosera) and many of the butterworts (Pinguiculas, aka Pings) do have a definite dormancy period during which time they do not feed. There are others, however, that either have no dormancy or do not actually need to undergo one.

Actually there are quite a few cp vendors throughout the US. I tend to get my plants via trade whenever possible as I am too strapped to spend much. A Google search would turn up quite a few I expect.

If my Drosera were ready for division, and if I had realized folks here might be interested, I would offer them up for trade or sale. Now I do have several pings ready for new homes -- 6-8 Pinguicula moranensis and one Pinguicula 'Aphrodite' (a hybrid). Perhaps if there is interest I'll put them up for trade or sale or folks can just contact me ...

Drosera-wise, D. capensis is one of the most common dews. It has no dormancy and is considered to be one of the easiest dews to grow.

[kindrag23]

Cool info, I actually have a care book for predatory plants.

[Joseia]

@Paul: I have never even thought of growing carnivorous plants at home, but I just took a look at some pics and they look cool! Some look like they came from another planet. I showed my wife, and she just said "Looks like another fix for the plant addict". Lol, I love my wife, she knows me sooo well.

D. Capensis looks really neat, so I may try that one out as a beginner and see how it goes. Can these plants take care of mealys, mites and scale too?

[Orchid Whisperer]

JKeys, for years I have used something similar to trap fruit flies when they find their way into the kitchen.

[kindrag23]

@Joseia I love my venus fly traps. They are so interesting.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by Joseia

D. Capensis looks really neat, so I may try that one out as a beginner and see how it goes. Can these plants take care of mealys, mites and scale too?

Generally no. In fact some types of mealies (don't know about scale) can attack dews and pings -- primarily at root level. (Root mealies are an all around potential scourge it seems.)

Originally Posted by kindrag23

@Joseia I love my venus fly traps. They are so interesting.

They are neat but the fact that vfts require a cold winter dormancy in order to maintain health/vigor does make them a difficult plant for long term success for many people.

[Island Girl]

^yea, Venus Fly Traps live/grow here in NC... It can get cold here.. Def. freezing, sometimes colder, so I always wondered why they sell them at Lowes, with no instructions on winter care....

Thank You Paul!! Thanks for that species suggestion! I wasn't sure if they had winter rests, but I did plan on looking them up, but I will go with your suggestion! (& will still research to make sure I give it the proper care, of course )

Thanks JKeys! I will look them up!

NY, the gnats are worse here when it's warm! Especially the fruit flies! I have traps all over... I go on a daily killing spree too... heheh I recently bought a store-bought trap to see if that worked better, I think it might just be a sugar mix, and a little acidic, with something else to it... Doesn't work near as well as the 'homemade' version with sweet wine.

slc, that could work. I have an 18 year old cat, who doesn't have many teeth (long story, result of a different vet, because our usual vet had a bad fire) I have to feed her wet food many times a day, so always have some sitting out, and the fruit flies LOVE that... I think that's what they are attracted to, honestly. (constant battle) But, fish food would smell similar, so that seems like it would work well... Just make sure there's enough liquid for them to drown in, and you put a couple drops of dish-soap in there (breaks the surface tension, so they can drown )

[Paul]

Originally Posted by Island Girl

^yea, Venus Fly Traps live/grow here in NC... It can get cold here.. Def. freezing, sometimes colder, so I always wondered why they sell them at Lowes, with no instructions on winter care....

Because then when they die, people (particularly with kids) will go out and buy a replacement.

Since I have had a couple queries about my pings, I figured it would be easiest to just create a ping thread, which I did here:
Pinguicula (aka butterworts)

[RosieC]

Cool. I like Butterworts but have trouble keeping them (have one that grows, but have had trouble with others).

I haven't had too much of a problem with fungas gnats this year, but I'll keep this tip in mind in case I do.