Contrary to popular belief, Venus Flytraps are easy to grow. Give it strong sun and humidity. Sphagnum moss, straight or mixed with little sand and kept wet, most closely resembles to its natural bog habitat.

The plants are almost foolproof, but if the traps fail to develop, then the humidity is probably too low. Here are some tips on how to care for your Venus Flytrap courtesy of plantsforkids.com

Do have fun with your Venus Flytrap. Try fooling your plant to close by taking a toothpick and lightly tapping the trigger hairs. Tap once, nothing happens: but the leaf is primed. Tap twice and traps snaps shut! Traps shut quickly when warm, slowly when cold. The trap will re-open in about a day if it is empty or does not have "food" in it. Leaves will re-open 3 or 4 times before they lose their ability to close.

Do feed your Venus Flytrap. On its own it will successfully trap millipedes, earwigs, flies, and medium sized bugs. Try putting one or two of these insects in the pot with the plant and watch the Venus Flytrap catch them.

Do give your Venus Flytrap plenty of sunshine. Place it in a sunny window, balcony or patio. If the inner surface of the trap is red, light conditions are perfect. If the inner surface is green, move your plant to a place where it will get more light.

Do provide a humid environment to your Venus Flytrap. Your Venus Flytrap will grow in full sun if the humidity is higher than 55%. To increase humidity if your air is dry, leave your plant in the plastic bag with the top open, or plant your flytrap in a terrarium.

Do give your Venus Flytrap lots of water. You need to try to duplicate the bog conditions where it grows naturally. Keep the saucer under the pot filled at all times with DISTILLED WATER or rain water. Avoid tap water as it often has natural minerals, which will turn the leaves black.

Don't leave your Venus Flytrap inside a closed plastic bag or terrarium in the sun. The heat will build up and cook your plant! Venus Flytraps prefer summer daytime temperatures in the 80-90F range with night temperatures about 10-20 degrees cooler.

Don't worry about applying additional fertilizer to your Venus Flytrap. If "fed", it will get all the nutrients from its "meals" just as it does in nature. A very dilute application of plant food once or twice during the summer is not harmful and may help the bulb grow bigger. The bigger the bulb grows, the larger the traps will be.

Don't feed your Venus Flytrap fatty food such as hamburger. The leaves will turn black and rot.

Don't expect a leaf to live forever. Each trap can only re-open about four times. As old leaves die, new ones come up from the bulb to replace them.

Don't panic when all the leaves of your Venus Flytrap blacken in the fall. The bulb is going dormant. It needs a 90-day rest. While dormant, put the pot outside, or in a place where it is cold (Mom's fridge?), but will not freeze (35-40F). With a little luck, you will be rewarded with larger traps in the spring and a display of delicate white flowers.