Venus flytrap

[ElleDubloo]

I bought a small Venus flytrap from one of the RHS shops, and was told that it could catch bluebottles. After bringing it home I reported it in a nice large pot with specialised carnivorous plant compost, and kept it moist constantly. A few weeks later, it's grown 2-3 times larger and appears healthy, and has grown a huge flower spike too. But I've never seen it catch anything, big or small. This morning I killed a fly and actually put it on an open leaf, and nothing happened! What's going on?

A fly has to actually land on the open "jaws" and brush the three trigger hairs in the trap twice in quick succession for the trap to snap shut, so it's more of a novelty appeal rather than an effective method of fly reduction! Don't trigger the traps yourself, as they will die if triggered too often, and make sure you water with rainwater.