All of us are often amazed when looking at carnivorous plants, which look scary and fascinating at the same time. Carnivorous plants are fun and interesting to keep, but do you know how to take proper care of them? Even though carnivorous plants are not considered for beginners, you can always start and then learn and improve your skills. In this post, we will share tips on how to choose and care for your carnivorous plant. We will answer questions on carnivorous plant soil and container choice, feeding, dormancy, humidity, pests and diseases and many more.
So, what are carnivorous plants and what types are there?
Carnivorous plants (some people even call them Cannibal plants) come from different areas of the world and grow in places where they usually lack proper nutrition from the soil.
These plants catch and digest insects and other organisms to compensate for lack of nutrition from the soil. There are different types of carnivorous plants which have various trap systems to catch insects and protozoans to fulfill their nutritional needs.
Trap systems include pitfalls, sticky substances, snaps, bladder and lobster traps. We will discuss the most popular carnivorous plants.
What are the most popular types of carnivorous plants to keep?
The main and best types of carnivorous plants that you can keep at home are:
- Sundews, or Drosera – there are many varieties that have their own care requirements
- Butterworts, or Pinguicula
- Venus flytrap
- Pitcher plants, including:
- Tropical Pitcher plants (Nepenthes) – there are around 150-160 species
- The Sun pitchers, or South American pitchers or Heliamphora – 23 species
- Trumpet pitchers or North American pitcher plants – Sarracenia – 8-11 species
- Australian pitcher plant, or Cephalotus follicularis
- Bladderworts or Utricularia – around 230 species
- The Cobra plant, or Darlingtonia californica, or California pitcher plant
Which soil do carnivorous plants need?
The best type of soil for carnivorous plant is a mix of peat moss and sand (1:1 proportion). You can also use 4:1 peat moss to perlite. There is a prepared soil that you can purchase specifically for carnivorous plants. Make sure the soil is free of any minerals, and don’t use contractor’s sand or beach sand.
What container to use for carnivorous plants?
Most carnivorous plant do well in plastic planters. Depending on type of the plant, you might require a planter with holes for drainage. Most carnivorous plants need a wet soil, but some will require the soil to be only damp and well-drained.
You can also use clay containers that have drainage holes for some carnivorous plants. Read individual care sheets for detailed information.
How do you water carnivorous plants? And which water to use for carnivorous plants?
Apart from tailored needs for each carnivorous plant, the rules are very similar. The main thing you need to remember is that you must not water your carnivorous plant with any tap, bottled mineral or filtered water.
This is because water from these sources is hard and contains dissolved mineral salts that your carnivorous plant doesn’t need in the soil. In the natural environment, carnivorous plants live in conditions where water is very low in nutrients and dissolved mineral salts, such as sodium and calcium.
If you keep watering your carnivorous plant with tap or mineral water, the soil will accumulate the salts and the plant will eventually die.
An easy way to test you water for hardness is to use a TDS water tester, which will tell how many dissolved minerals are there in your water. The measurement will be provided in p.p.m (parts per million).
Lower the measurement, the better, and the average p.p.m that is suitable for carnivorous plants is 80 or less. If you use both rainwater and other source, the measurement can be as high as 150 p.p.m.
Instead, you must only use purified, distilled, demineralized water or natural rainwater. You can do so by either 
placing the plant outdoors (if the temperatures allow it) or collecting the rainwater and watering the plant indoors. A good option if you need to water many plants is to use few stage reverse osmosis filters for water.
The filter will remove impurities from tap water to make it suitable for carnivorous plants. It is also a very popular way to make pure water for people to drink at home.
Reverse osmosis filter often goes under your tap: the water goes through the filter inside the small tank and the purified water is then diverted into a separate tank for your use.
Water your carnivorous plants by planting them into plastic containers that have drainage holes. Then, put them in a deep tubs or tanks and fill it with water to around 0.5-1 inches (depending on plant) in height. Make sure water is always available as your plant will absorb water from the bottom.
Do carnivorous plants become dormant in winter?
Yes, carnivorous plants become inactive – most of them in winter. If dormancy starts in winter – this is because days get shorter and temperatures lower.
While most carnivorous plants become dormant in winter, some of them become inactive in summer (like Australian sundews). During the dormant period, carnivorous plants stop growing and become fully inactive.
The main thing that you need to care for is to place the plant in the cool place in winter and hide it from too much sunlight or artificial light. For example, Venus flytrap needs to be in a cool shady place in winter for dormancy. But not all plants need to be in the shade.
If you live in hot climate, finding a cool spot for your temperate carnivorous plant in winter is a must. You should also reduce amount of water and sometimes dry the soil (will depend on the plant).
If you notice that your carnivorous plant is losing its leaves, don’t worry, it might be normal, and the leaves will grow back in spring or summer.
Another mistake that some keepers make is placing the plant in the shade or cool place in summer when it is active. This will force your carnivorous plant to become dormant when it shouldn’t.
What and how to feed carnivorous plants?
Feeding your carnivorous plant is a lot of fun. Carnivorous plants need food to get the nutrients that they can use for growing, as they don’t get them from the soil. Don’t feed your carnivorous plants any meat or sweet treats, as this will make your plant go moldy or ill.
You will only need to feed your carnivorous plant if you keep it inside the house. If it is outside, it will take care of the food by capturing the bugs that sit down in the trap to enjoy the nectar. Some plants will even manage to capture bugs inside the house, so make sure to check on them.
The best type of food to feed your carnivorous plants are freeze dried crickets, bloodworms and mealworms. These 
are usually readily available for reptiles and are sometimes fortified with vitamins. Wet the food slightly before feeding your plant. Put the insect in the trap and if the lobes don’t shut, you need to trigger the hairs inside the trap.
Use something thin and small to trigger the hairs, and then the digestive juices will be released for digestion. Make sure that the prey is much smaller than the trap, around 30-40% of a trap’s size.
Feed your carnivorous plant only once or twice a week (depends on the size of a prey). One large cricket or worm is enough for a week.
Do I need to fertilize my carnivorous plant?
Most carnivorous plants don’t need any fertilizers if they trap enough food or if you feed them regularly. Food once a week provides carnivorous plants with enough nutrients. Anyway, most carnivorous plants grow in nutritionally poor soils, and they get their nutrients with food.
If you think your plant is not getting enough food and looks weak and sick, you can fertilize it once in a month. You 
can also do it if you want a healthier plant that is inside a terrarium and you don’t want to feed it insects.
If you decide to fertilize your carnivorous plant, remember, that you must not spray any fertilizing solution on the soil. Instead, you need to prepare a diluted solution that you should spray on the leaves.
These plants have been created in a way that they get all their nutrients through their leaves. And the soil should stay poor in any nutrients. The only exception when you can fertilize the soil is when the plant’s soil has a very good drainage.
Prepare a diluted solution of the fertilizer and spray it on the leaves. Fertilizers that you can use for your carnivorous plants is 30-10-10 orchid food and fertilizer for acid-loving plants for some carnivorous plants. Make sure to read our specific care sheets for correct information.
What pests and diseases can attack carnivorous plants?
There are various types of pests that can attack your carnivorous plants. Type of pests or diseases that occur on the plant can depend on different factors, such as humidity levels, use of fertilizers and presence of dead leaves.
A good way to detect any type of a bug is to put a white paper under the plant, shake its leaves and then analyze the insects that fall on the paper.
- Aphids – these are very common in carnivorous plants and cause the most damage. These are small bugs of black, green and white color. They are hardly visible (sometimes not visible at all) and suck the juice from the
leaves of carnivorous plants. Twisted, weak leaves and white skin shedding can indicate the aphids. Use insecticide to get rid of aphids. - Mealy bugs – these small white and fluffy looking bugs cause serious damage to plants if untreated. They usually attack in colonies and look like a ‘white mass’ from the distance. Use a systemic insecticide (sometimes few times) to get rid of them.
- Fungus gnat larvae – larvae that turn into flies. They usually gather on the soil in larvae form and then the leaves when they become flies. Use some insecticide to get rid of them or just wash the leaves under the water to drown them.
- Snails and slugs – these can chew some holes in fresh leaves. If you notice any snails, caterpillars or slugs on your carnivorous plant, remove them immediately.
- Spider mites – these mites are very small and look like dots. They can be white, red or black in color. They cause serious damage to the plant and you must treat your plant with a miticide, and not an insecticide to solve the problem.
- Scale – these bugs are round and look like round dots. They can be
black, yellowish, brown and of many other colors. They have protective coating and using insecticide might only work on newly hatched bugs. Instead, prune the affected leaves or branches if possible, and pick them out manually. You can also dip the leaves in alcohol solution or malathion. - Thrips – they are very small bugs that are hard to see with an unaided eye. They are often black, but their larvae are yellow, and they damage plants’ leaves (often pitcher plants). If you look very closely, they are long bugs that are usually in colonies. To get rid of them, use a mix of miticide and insecticide.
How to plant carnivorous plants in a terrarium or greenhouse?
Planting carnivorous plants in a terrarium or greenhouse has a lot of benefits. This method suits people that live in 
colder climates with summers that are not warm enough – or winters that are too cold. Lack of sunlight can also have a lot of negative effects on a carnivorous plant. Maintaining specific temperature and providing artificial lighting inside a terrarium or greenhouse will contribute to a healthy plant growth during winter or even all-year-round.
One of the types of a DIY terrarium for carnivorous plants is a large tank or aquarium where you place your plant(s) in their pots. Make sure to install a fluorescent fixture or lamp above the terrarium for an artificial light source. Use a thermometer as well to see what temperature is inside the terrarium.
Most carnivorous plants will be comfortable in room temperatures, but some of them, like a Venus flytrap, will have to be removed for winter dormancy. Every plant will be comfortable in different temperatures, in various times of a year.
Don’t place the fluorescent fixture or lamp too close or too far away from the plants. The typical distance should be around 10 inches.
Depending on your carnivorous plant, you can create a tropical or subtropical terrarium and heat or cool it to achieve specific temperatures. Read our specific care sheets for your plant to find out about required temperatures.
How to heat a terrarium with carnivorous plants?
If you want to create a warm habitat for your plants, you will need to heat a terrarium. A good way to do it is to buy a heating pad and place it under the terrarium tank and set the temperature to 20-25 degrees C. Temperature will also depend on the type of a carnivorous plant.
What humidity levels do carnivorous plants need?
As we have mentioned before, carnivorous plant love humidity and you need to leave them in a tray with water at most times. Make sure the humidity in the room or greenhouse is average-to-high for them.
Same goes for a terrarium, but don’t choose closed terrariums because too much humidity will cause formation of mold. You can also use a humidifier in a room for your plants to increase humidity.
Can you grow carnivorous plants outdoors?
Yes, in some cases you can grow them outdoors if the climate suits the plant. Make sure to read individual care sheets to determine required climate and temperatures for your carnivorous plant.
I hope this article has helped to answer most of your questions on carnivorous plant care! Post any questions that you have in the comments and I will do my best to answer them!
For more detailed information on specific carnivorous plants, read the care sheets: