How To Grow Bug-Eating Garden Plants (VIDEO)

WATCH: These Plants Feed Themselves

Gardening may never get so easy. In the video above, HGTV shows us how to assemble a small garden full of carnivorous plants like sundews, Venus flytraps and pitcher plants. A garden with plants that feed themselves might be uncommon, but there are some surprising benefits to this.

First, carnivorous plants can help you deal with unwanted insects. Venus flytraps wait for insects to crawl or land in their open mouths and then snap their jaws closed to absorb the insect's nutrients. The pitcher plant, however, takes a less agressive approach, waiting for insects attracted to their nectar to land on their slippery rim and fall into the plant's digestive fluid. Lastly, the sundew's sticky leaves inhibit insects, and then the plant's enzymes break down the bug for nutrients. Moreover, some carnivorous plants can even digest very small crustaceans, mice, and other small vertebrates.

Additionally, carnivorous plants are easy to care for. Just keep their soil moistened with a small amount of water and, if you want, feed them a bug once or twice a month. Also, these plants like their share of humidity and bright indirect sunlight. Our gardening expert Tara Heibel of Sprout Home suggests gardening carnivorous plants, like the pitcher plant, in a shaded area where the temperature stays above 50 degrees. If the plant begins to look sickly, just place it in direct sunlight for a few hours.

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