Hi guys, i’m sorry if i posting in the wrong categorie. So, i’m in doubt about what kind of mulch to use. Here in my city, have a nice forest, with a lot of plant-litter, with nice mycelium. I always take this leafs to make IMO and EMs. But using mulch in my pots, I noticed the presence of many thrips. And now I’m afraid to have an infestation using the plant-litter as a mulch. Because in the forest at least there is a constant balance, now at home, in single pots, it may be that this balance does not exist and thrips proliferate. What do you guys think about that? I’m thinking of using hay as mulch, after plant-litter is more accessible to me. 
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Ru absolutely sure they are thrips? The only reason I ask is I was looking at my worm bins just the other day and was sifting some castings in my bins and were loaded with beneficial mites as well little white bugs that looked like thrips upon closer investigation when trying to capture one they jumped considerable distance relative to their size and quickly realized I had Springtails which is a bug that helps break down of organic matter very similar at first appearance!
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Hey Tinytuttle, i had never heard about theese Springtails, but I noticed the insects here, and they are more like the Thysanoptera, some are large type 1cm and fly. The smaller ones are black and have a well-stretched abdomen, but they do not fly. I read on, and they said that not all thysanoptera are plant pests, some are just decomposers. But I’m afraid they’ll end up being a pest for the plants.
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But I’ll watch more carefully, sometimes I’ve been wrong, they even look a bit like looking at the photos.
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Don’t use hay. Too many weeds. Use straw. Is this an indoor grow or outdoor?
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Ya I’d be wary of the thrips that fly they have a the ability to do damage to leaf tissue by sucking out plant juices … I’v personally haven’t seen dark thrips like this one!
Though if there in dead organic matter like the material pictured they very well could be organic decomposers and may not even bother live plants but at this point I can’t say for certainty!
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Hey Meesh, for now its in outdoor, but i want use organic style for me indoor too. I dont know if i can buy straw here in my city, for mulch i have hay or coconut fiber, and the leafs.
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hey tiny, i think i’ll keep the leafs for some time, and if i ser ant thrips in the plants i change for another mulch. I like the leafs because they are for free. Least one expanse for me 
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