Venus fly trap plant -Are they dangerous to Humans-I have a 2 year old amd 4 year old. I want it by the trash?

Question

I want to put one on a plant hanger by my Trash Cans but I'm worried my little ones will put there finger in there.

Answer 1

You don't have anything to worry about with regards to the safety of your children.  Venus Fly Traps are just like any other plant for the most part except they exhibit rapid movement.  They aren't made out of steel, so it is easy enough to pull your finger out if the trap closes on it.  Also, in case you're wondering, they don't have any toxic oil on their leaves like poison ivy.  In general, they are just small low-lying ground plants.

In case you're interested in knowing how to care for the plant, there are three major points to keeping a Venus fly trap healthy.

1) Sunlight

2) Water

3) Soil

Venus fly traps like lots of light. Try to give it at least 4 hours of direct sunlight a day. The more you can give it the better. It is best to grow your fly trap outside where it can get plenty of sun and catch its own food. If you bought it from a store where it was inside, you will have to acclimate it to sunlight by putting it in shade for a few days, then give it an hour of sunlight one day, a couple hours the next day, etc.

Venus fly traps need clean water. Usually tap water will not do. It is best to use distilled water, rain water, or reverse osmosis water. Venus fly traps need water with a TDS (total dissolved soilds) measurement of 50 ppm (parts per million) or less. In order to get this, you probably need to use distilled water or reverse osmosis water or rain water. Their soil should be kept wet at all times. It is best to use a tray and set the plant in about 1/2 inch of water. Humidity isn't that important. Fly traps can live fine in low humidity conditions. I have about a hundred plants and I live in Colorado where the humidity in the summer is very low. They do great so long as they get plenty of sunlight and clean water.

Venus Fly Traps grow in nutrient poor soil.  Most growers use a combination of peat moss and perlite, but pure peat moss or long fibered sphagnum moss work well too.

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

Venus fly traps are harmless to humans, if they stick their finger in the trap may bite, probably not (because of size), and if the finger is bit just pull it out simply.

Answer 3

Venus fly traps are harmless to humans, they don't have a very strong grip and the child would probably end up breaking off the head of the fly trap that got him/her  even if it didn't let go.