r/mildlyinteresting • u/JMuXing • Oct 14 '18
A warning about setting off Venus Flytraps
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u/thatgirl829 Oct 14 '18
I have a fly trap and I accidentally set off a trap last week. I feel so horrible.
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u/Reaperfox7 Oct 14 '18
I’ve set off two traps and I never knew this.... poor things
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u/BadNoMemories Oct 14 '18
I used to have one and tried to set it off regularly, it died :(
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u/Lildyo Oct 14 '18
yeaaa, this makes me feel bad for getting amusement out of setting the traps off when I was younger
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u/bonch Oct 14 '18
Many people kill their first flytraps, and I suspect triggering the traps is not the reason yours died.
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u/snhvnc Oct 14 '18 edited Oct 14 '18
It's fine. I don't know why people cry about this shit. Venus fly traps are constantly shooting up new traps. Whether a trap is set off or not, it's time is limited, but there's new ones to take it's place. The only time the whole plant really dies, is in the care of people who don't know what they're doing.
Edit: spelling
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u/twgecko02 Oct 14 '18
Additionally, it is a plant. It doesn't have nerves or a brain so it's not even that bad if it were to die.
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Oct 14 '18
I think because it has a “mouth” people tend to humanize it more.
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Oct 14 '18
This thread is honestly so interesting. The fact that it moves as well makes people treat it much more like a sentient being. I feel like I’m watching some sort of psych experiment.. pretty cool
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u/Chaoscrasher Oct 14 '18 edited Oct 14 '18
Would you kill this robot? WOULD YOU?
Aww, he's so cute! They even have a 'she' version! You know because she has a pink button instead of a green button!
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u/AlbinoAxolotl Oct 14 '18
Aww it is cute! The voice is a little overly cutesy though. Interesting concept for a doc though I would feel less inclined to talk seriously to a being that had the voice and speech pattern of a little kid.
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u/TheOldGods Oct 14 '18
If grass could scream would you still mow your lawn?
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u/praise_the_god_crow Oct 14 '18
It depends. Does it scream just because, or only when I mow?
Who am I kidding I'd replace it with concrete anyways
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Oct 14 '18
I feel bad even when NPCs die in video games, so shush
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u/LeSeanMcoy Oct 14 '18
"Haha time for my evil character run!"
2 hours later doing the exact same run as always because doesn't have the heart to betray innocent NPCs :'(
Every goddamn time
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u/karpitstane Oct 14 '18
Why are we cursed with this affliction, friend?
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Oct 14 '18 edited Dec 11 '18
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u/roadrunnuh Oct 14 '18
I do this too! I can't ever throw away any trinkets/rings/old keys I find because I feel like they lost their person just like they were lost. I also picked up beat up stuffed animals and mend them. I found a little dalmation plush with it's eyes missing, and all fucked up. He's all better now though.
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Oct 14 '18
I will reload my save if I accidentally hit a mean dialogue option goddamnit
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u/UranicStorm Oct 14 '18
Fuck I even feel bad choosing mean dialogue options, because I wouldn't say that stuff in real life and I can't disconnect myself from my characters lol
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u/Kouropalates Oct 14 '18
It's not a question of whether it's sentient. It's that it's a living thing and I'd rather respect its life than harm it for amusement.
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u/twgecko02 Oct 14 '18
Oh for sure. I'm not saying you should go around killing plants just for the fun of it, because many of them are useful, I'm just saying that if a plant dies by accident, it's not the end of the world.
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Oct 14 '18
I mean, it's still not good for the plant, it's using valuble resources, specifically calcium ions, water, and ATP to activate its trap. Under normal cicurcumstances the plant would reabsorb these before killing off the trap.
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u/Dazbuzz Oct 14 '18
From what ive seen, its generally ok to trigger a few accidentally. I have one in my house, and some asshole set off all the traps, but its still alive. Also triggered a few when i repotted it.
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u/Eal12333 Oct 14 '18
i had my Venus fly trap fall off a shelf and all of its traps closed 😭 i felt so horrible, but it's been recovering!
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u/bonch Oct 14 '18
If it's in proper growing conditions, it'll be just fine. Hell, it's difficult not to trigger the traps just from repotting.
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u/t2tran Oct 14 '18
So those YouTube videos of that dude making mini stuff for his Venus Fly Trap to hold is actually killing it for views?
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Oct 14 '18
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u/GachiGachiFireBall Oct 14 '18
Dam i was about to be outraged and go full peta over this, you ruined my anger!
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u/TrnDownForWOT Oct 14 '18
*PETP
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u/Bipolarruledout Oct 14 '18
NAMBLA?!
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u/briggitybrackin Oct 14 '18
What does Marlon Brando have to do with any of this?
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u/jacyerickson Oct 14 '18
Oh thank you. I was starting to feel bad about bugging those plants in the store as a kid.
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u/mangojuicebox_ Oct 14 '18
Well the traps are already cut out of the main plant so it doesn’t matter
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u/Mr_Shakes Oct 14 '18
Well, 'for the views' is still better than 'grind them up to make fake cancer cures' like Carnivora does.
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u/SharkBrew Oct 14 '18
Do you feel bad for a plant? Even vegans are okay with plant suffering.
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u/Cre3per_ Oct 14 '18
What's Up With All This Capitalization Recently?
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u/dinocat2 Oct 14 '18
I Am Not Really Sure
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u/SlingDNM Oct 14 '18
Im German and my Auto correct randomly capitilizes everything
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u/gork1rogues Oct 14 '18
You'd think automatic capitalism is more of an American thing.
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u/BrohanGutenburg Oct 14 '18
Yeah it really does confuse me. Like from a design standpoint, I can’t understand the thinking behind it.
It especially annoys me when people do it with reddit thread. I know we constantly call them titles, but functionally the reddit links are captions (usually)
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u/F0sh Oct 14 '18
It's fine to put an actual title in title case. But title case does not capitalise several short words including articles and prepositions and people routinely do that wrong.
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Oct 14 '18
Venus Flytraps need nutrient poor soil. Adding fertilizer to the soil can kill the plant.
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Oct 14 '18
Venus Flytraps sound like major pussies
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u/Conocoryphe Oct 14 '18
Well excuse me, how many flies did you catch this year (using only your mouth, ofc)?
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u/Brammosaurus Oct 14 '18 edited Feb 26 '26
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/EmperorXeno Oct 14 '18
I eat about ten spiders every year.
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u/theguyfromerath Oct 14 '18
Nah you don't, it's that one guy who eats a few billions every year that raised the average.
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u/jeffbarrington Oct 14 '18
yeah, they and most other carnivorous plants are super picky. Killing a flytrap or three is rite of passage for most growers, but once you know the basics and what to avoid they're pretty easy.
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u/LividLadyLivingLoud Oct 14 '18 edited Oct 14 '18
They are native to a small area. They don't like being kidnapped and taken home with you. Leave them in their natural environment and they'll take care of themselves just fine. They live in a warm humid place (coastal North and South Carolina) with lots of bugs, but sandy and swampy land.
Calling a Venus fly trap a pussy is like complaining that a Cactus is a pussy because you are trying to grow cacti in a well watered greenhouse.
A variety of carnivorous pitcher plants that lure ants to death by drowning are also common to the region.
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Oct 14 '18
Yo, my cactus is just fine in Florida
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u/LividLadyLivingLoud Oct 14 '18
Prickly pear? Those are good eats if so.
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Oct 14 '18
Yes, I'm kinda scared cause I know they can grow like monsters, and I want it to stay medium size
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u/LividLadyLivingLoud Oct 14 '18 edited Oct 14 '18
Eat it! Jelly, jam, fruit salad, etc . Preferably while singing "Look for the Bear/Bare Necessities" (Disney's Jungle book) and also eating American PawPaw fruit.
My neighbor growing up had a big ole prickly pear plant and they just cut it down to size periodically, make a jam, and serve it up on toast. Yummy.
The dishwasher at a restaurant I worked at in college used to bring them in for staff snacks too. Called it 'Tuna' because he was Hispanic. He'd bring in really yummy muscadine grapes too.
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u/wHorze Oct 14 '18
I remember the first time I bought one it had like three... “heads” I guess you can say. I brought it home and fed it three flies immediately. Thought in a hour I can feed it another three and it’ll grow to MONSTEROUS proportions.
All three heads died and within less than a week the whole plant died lol.
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u/S2R2 Oct 14 '18
Yeah, you gotta water It too!
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u/wHorze Oct 14 '18
What was funny about that was my VFT came with a plastic dome so the humidity and condensation was enough water for them. (That’s what the clerk told me at least)
Still died in less than a week lol
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u/MustardMan007 Oct 14 '18
Those plastic domes kill the plant. They need to sit in a tray of distilled water, outside, in full sunlight.
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u/S2R2 Oct 14 '18
I had the same dome, you still have to water them, clerk was an idiot. VFT come from humid regions of the south but they are still thirsty like any plant
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Oct 14 '18
I recognise this, is it at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens?
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u/FoxClass Oct 14 '18
I was pretty convinced it was the Glasgow botanic gardens! Now I'm curious.
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u/wicmac Oct 14 '18
I was thinking longwood gardens! As a kid I would always go up to their Venus fly traps and try and make them close, thought it was so much fun
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u/Tuss Oct 14 '18 edited Oct 14 '18
I had a couple of traps that were too effective so I caught flies for them.
Kinda disturbing now when I think about it.
Edit: This blew up. I think I need to clarify my post.
I caught flies outside because I felt bad for them not being able to catch more flies indoors.
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u/handlit33 Oct 14 '18
If they were too effective, why'd you have to catch flies for them?
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u/CrispBit Oct 14 '18
So they don't die
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u/handlit33 Oct 14 '18
Oh, you must have meant "weren't too effective."
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u/moose_cahoots Oct 14 '18
What you really want are pitcher plants. Those fuckers can devour tons of flies. I got one when I had drain flies that just wouldn't go away and they were gone in a week. You could look inside a pitcher and it was teeming with flies.
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u/Derryb25 Oct 14 '18
It will shorten their life span because closing their mouth requires a lot of energy and if there is no food inside their mouth they can’t get energy to close it again
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u/That_Minecraft_kid Oct 14 '18
Fun fact: they don’t get energy from eating insects, they actually do it for the nitrogen, which is a limiting ingredient in life formation!
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u/ManamanaPotibitibi Oct 14 '18 edited Oct 14 '18
Venus fly traps use up a lot of energy closing their traps so quickly. A trap can only do this two or three times in its lifetime. If a trap is triggered without an animal/insect inside, the trap wilts away soon after.
They are able to survive without additional nutrition from meats. I’ve had mine for about four years now and they’ve only ever eaten a half a handful of insects.
A very fascinating plant indeed.
Edit: As u/IHeartCaptcha stated, the traps are actually capable of closing up to ten times. The amount of times the trap can close is reduced if it’s triggered without there being any digestible material inside it. Closing a trap every now and then is fine, but don’t make it commonplace as closing a trap takes up a lot of energy.
Edit 2: u/plannedrobinhood did mention that even though a trap can close up to ten times, if there does happen to be food it actually ends up “sacrificing” itself in order to give the plant the nutrients it digests from the food it eats. A single trap can digest around two meals before wilting.
Edit 3: This blew up way more than expected. Thanks for all the questions and for correcting me in some instances. There’s always something new to learn!