When you keep tropical plants in a tropical environment, you naturally get quite a few pests. This is inevitable - flies like the conditions of a tropical environment. Now I'm not comfortable killing flies - I know this may sound crazy but in general they don't harm me and they don't harm the plants. However sometimes there are too many or they lay their eggs and then the babies hatch, and then you've got real problems.
So I've implemented a plant that many of you will be familiar with, aka the Venus Fly Trap. As a young boy I loved these plants but could never keep them alive - that was totally my fault as I used to enjoy ticking the 'feelers' on the traps so that they would close. If you do this, the plant anticipates it will get something to eat, but sadly nothing. Do this more than a few times and you will kill it :(
But I've grown up now and know better. All this plant eats is flies. And if you look closely, the trap in the middle has actually closed and you can see the remains of a fly. So it's doing its job which put a smile on my face today.
There's a couple of leaves that have gone black and died, but the bulk of the plant is very healthy and active. I don't know how many of these traps I will need for our tents but quite a few. Nevertheless I'm a lot more comfortable with they way they deal with flies, so I don't have to.
Do you have a venus fly trap at home or maybe something similar you could suggest? I would love to hear about your experiences with them.
