Carnivorous plants flip the rules of the food chain by trapping insects and small animals to extract valuable nutrients that the plants can’t absorb from the soil. Not only does this alien-looking flora look strange and exotic in one’s home, but the plants can help capture gnats, flies, and other bug invaders.
You’ve probably seen a Venus flytrap or maybe even bought one from a display at Trader Joe’s or Walmart as a curiosity. Although the Venus flytrap is the plant most people think of when they hear “carnivorous,” there are also numerous species of pitcher plants, sundews, and bladderworts that eat meat. As the carnivorous plant Audrey II says in The Little Shop of Horrors, “Feed me, Seymour!”
Many carnivorous plants thrive in specific conditions, such as high humidity and a peat soil mixture. If you are willing to create a suitable environment, any of the following carnivorous plants could help rid your house of small bugs.
Venus flytrap
Venus flytraps have modified, jaw-looking leaves lined with trigger hairs that snap shut on flies and other small insects that wander across their surface. The alien-looking plants are endemic to the wetlands of North and South Carolina.
Although threatened in the wild, Venus flytraps are the most popular carnivorous plant to keep as a houseplant. Do not feed them hamburger or other people food, which will harm the plants, but it’s OK to hand-feed them a dead fly that you just swatted off the window.
Even though it’s more difficult to see the Venus flytrap encased in a dome terrarium or plastic tube with air holes, the plants do best when kept in a humid environment.
Trumpet Pitcher
Plants of the genus Sarracenia are commonly known as trumpet pitchers or American pitcher plants. These plants get their name from long pitchers that produce nectar near the top rim. When insects land on them and try to get more of the good stuff, they fall into the smooth-sided pitcher and are unable to fly out. The nutrients from the trapped insects are then absorbed by the pitcher plants.
Trumpet pitchers grow best in a potted mixture of one part peat and one part perlite. They require a minimum of four hours a day of direct sunlight, so they thrive on sunny patios and in greenhouses.
Tropical Pitcher Plants
Plants of the genus Nepenthes, also known as tropical pitcher plants, are native to Southeast Asia. Unlike American pitcher plants, tropical pitcher plants have typical-looking leaves that can grow a long tendril at their tip that develops into a pitcher. When insects fall inside, digestive enzymes at the bottom of the pitcher absorb the bugs’ nutrients.
At home, tropical pitcher plants grow best in areas with a lot of bright sunlight and relatively humid conditions. If your home is a relatively bug-free zone, congratulations! Your tropical pitcher plant will still appreciate a frozen cricket as a treat from time to time.
Sundew
There are at least 194 species in the genus Drosera, commonly known as sundews. These plants — found on every continent except Antarctica — have stalked mucilaginous glands that produce sticky drops on their leaves. When an insect gets trapped in the gooey mess, the leaf will fold around the bug and digest it.
Besides a soil mixture of half peat moss and half perlite, the most important thing to remember about keeping a sundew happy is hydration. Only use distilled water or rainwater for these carnivorous cuties — tap water will kill them almost immediately.
Butterwort
Flowering plants of the genus Pinguicula, commonly known as butterworts, have sticky leaves that trap and digest tiny insects such as gnats. Of the approximately 80 known species, the majority live in Central and South America.
If you get a lot of gnats and fruit flies in your home, a potted butterwort will catch them by the dozens. As with most carnivorous plants, the 50-50 peat moss and perlite soil mixture is key, as well as watering with distilled water or rainwater. An added bonus is that some of the species produce beautiful, colorful flowers twice a year.
Cobra Lily
One of the most visually striking carnivorous plants is Darlingtonia californica, otherwise known as the cobra lily or California pitcher plant. The hooded pitchers of these plants can grow up to three feet tall with heads each the size of a fist.
Cobra lilies are native to Oregon and Northern California, so the best way to keep these picky plants alive is to replicate their native environment as much as possible. The plants, which go dormant for a period in the winter, like lots of sunlight, well-drained soil, moderate summers, and chilly nights. They are one of the more difficult carnivorous plants to grow, so beginners should opt for another species before tackling a cobra lily.
Bladderwort
Plants of the genus Utricularia, commonly known as bladderworts, are aquatic or semiaquatic plants that trap small animals such as protozoa, water fleas, fish fry, and tadpoles in their bladderlike traps.
Even the terrestrial species of bladderworts require moist soil at all times. The plants produce lovely flowers that some compare to snapdragons or orchids.
Dewy Pine
Drosophyllum lusitanicum, commonly known as the dewy pine, is a carnivorous plant that shares a physical resemblance with sundews. Dewy pines have leaves beaded with a sticky secretion that traps insects like a sundew, but the leaves of a dewy pine do not coil around their prey like those of their carnivorous cousins. The dewy pine is native to a few areas of the western Mediterranean, including Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.
When grown in the United States, dewy pines thrive best as potted plants in areas with hot summers and rainy winters, such as California. Unlike most other carnivorous plants, adult dewy pines don’t require as much around-the-clock moisture.
Monkey Cup
Nepenthes rajah, also known as the monkey cup, is an endangered tropical pitcher plant native to Borneo. The plant got its name because monkeys have been observed drinking water from the plants’ enormous pitchers, which can each hold up to three liters of fluid. The monkey cup is also the only plant known capable of digesting a mammal — drowned rats have been found getting digested in the plant’s pitchers.
At home, a monkey cup is challenging to grow outside of a greenhouse. They require good light, high humidity, and moist soil.
Albany Pitcher Plant
Cephalotus follicularis, commonly known as the Albany or Australian pitcher plant, is a small pitcher plant native to swampy areas in Western Australia. Threatened in the wild, Cephalotus follicularis produces dark red pitchers that are lined with fine hairs in bright sunlight.
Although this carnivorous plant is coveted for its colorful pitchers, they can be difficult to grow and are not suitable for beginners. The Albany pitcher plant thrives best in conditions found in cool highland terrariums and greenhouses, or outdoors in coastal areas of Central and Southern California.
Dewstick
The genus Roridula has two species of insect-trapping shrubs commonly known as dewsticks or fly bushes. The leaves have sticky tentacles that trap insects but, unlike other carnivorous plants, the dewstick does not digest the trapped insects. Instead, insects of the genus Pameridea prey on the trapped bugs and leave droppings on the dewstick, which are then digested.
Dewsticks are native to South Africa and prefer humid, warm, sunny, subtropical conditions. Their roots are prone to rot if kept too wet during the winter months.
Rainbow Plant
The genus Byblis contains eight species of carnivorous plants commonly known as rainbow plants because of how the sunlight glistens off their mucilage-covered leaves, which trap insects trying to venture over the rainbow. All species are native to Australia and New Guinea and produce purple or white flowers.
At home, rainbow plants seem to prefer a half-peat, half-sand mixture and should not be left in standing water. The plants require 8 to 10 hours of direct light, either natural or artificial.
Brocchinia reducta
Brocchinia reducta is a type of carnivorous bromeliad native to several South American countries. The leaves of this bromeliad form a water-storing cup that produces a sweet aroma that attracts insects and drowns them.
When kept at home, Brocchinia reducta requires being fed bloodworms, bugs, or fish food every two to three weeks. The soil should be kept damp at all times using distilled water or rainwater.