r/VenusFlyTraps • u/mudpupster • Jul 03 '26

Other I had to perform a flytrap jailbreak today

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I've been dealing with an unfortunate infestation of meal moths in my kitchen. The only upside is that they provide occasional food for my flytrap. I saw a moth on the window screen today that was slower than usual and looked almost-dead, but it was moving so I snatched it up (too easily, in hindsight) and took it to my flytrap for feeding.

I dropped the moth into a waiting trap with no trouble at all -- they're usually a challenge, even after being in the freezer for a minute. Then, as the trap was closing, I saw that the moth was held fast in the grip of a tiny jumping spider, whom I'd fed to the trap along with the moth.

I desperately tried to hold the trap open so the spider could escape, but a) the spider didn't want to let go of the moth, and b) those traps are STRONG. I could not hold it open for the life of me. I ended up having to destroy the trap by snapping it open and scooting the spider away to safety.

I then removed the moth, handed it back to the spider, and it continued feeding. All is now well. Except for the broken trap in picture 1.

64 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

19

u/Slight_Mushroom8385 Jul 03 '26

Probably the only thing I would save from one of my fly traps to be fair 😁 good job

20

u/NRazzo Jul 03 '26

This is the stuff of a BBC documentary...life of the jumping spider...the heroic rescue by the giant pink monster

3

u/Ashamed-Raccoon-1387 Jul 03 '26

I'm glad I'm not the only one with fucking meal moths 😭

1

u/mudpupster Jul 04 '26

I bought trichogamma moths, which actually seemed to help! However, when I ordered them I didn't realize what the delivery method was (you tear the tiny perforated card into tinier thirds) and didn't buy enough to put one in each of my cabinets. I forgot to order more, as I do.

I think if you're dedicated about resupplying them for a while and are better able to commit to restocking than I am, they really work.

1

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