Confidor, Decis, Sulfur — What Each Garden Spray Does and How to Use It Safely

Every agro shop in Georgia stocks the same shelf: Confidor, Decis, sulfur, and fungicides like Luna or Zato. People search for "Confidor dose" because the label is small print. But the most common mistake our crew sees in Tbilisi gardens isn't a wrong dose. It's the wrong product, such as an insecticide sprayed on a fungus, or on spider mites it can't kill.

Here's what each product does, how to read the dose, and how to spray without harming bees or burning leaves.

First question: insect, mite, or fungus?

Identify the problem before you buy. Products fall into three groups that don't overlap:

• Insecticides kill insects: aphids, whitefly, scale, Colorado potato beetle. They do nothing against fungi, and most do little against mites.
• Acaricides target mites, including spider mites, which aren't insects at all.
• Fungicides control fungal diseases: powdery mildew, scab, downy mildew on grapes, and grey mould.

If you're unsure what you're seeing, start with our guide to garden pests and diseases in Georgia.

Confidor: a systemic insecticide

Confidor's active ingredient is imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid. It's systemic: the plant absorbs it into its sap, poisoning sucking insects such as aphids, whitefly, and young scale. It acts more slowly than a contact spray, but lasts longer.

What to know before you use it:

• It doesn't control spider mites. In a hot, dry Tbilisi July, speckled and yellowing leaves on roses, cucumbers, or hydrangeas are often caused by mites, not insects. Confidor won't fix that.
• It's highly toxic to bees. It can reach pollen and nectar, so never use it on flowering plants or anything bees visit. This is why the EU banned outdoor use of imidacloprid.
• Confidor Maxi has the same active ingredient in a different formulation and concentration, so the dose for one doesn't apply to the other. Mixing them up is how overdoses happen.

Decis: a contact pyrethroid

Decis contains deltamethrin, a pyrethroid. It kills fast on contact but doesn't enter the plant, so the spray must reach the insect, including leaf undersides.

• It also kills ladybirds and other predators that keep pests in check.
• Once they're gone, spider mite outbreaks often follow, especially in a hot summer.
• Pyrethroids lose effectiveness in high heat, so spray in the evening.
• It's very toxic to bees and fish. Don't spray near ponds or irrigation channels.

Sulfur: the oldest fungicide in Georgian vineyards

Sulfur has protected Georgian grapes from powdery mildew for generations. Sulfolac is one of the wettable-sulfur products sold here. It controls powdery mildew on grapes, roses, and cucurbits, and also suppresses mites.

Two rules matter:

• It protects but doesn't cure. Apply it before the disease takes hold or at its very first signs.
• Don't apply it in heat. Above roughly 30–32°C, during spraying or the next few days (check the exact limit on your label), sulfur burns leaves. In a Tbilisi July or August, the daytime temperature passes that limit most days, so spray at dawn or wait for a cooler spell.

Luna and Zato: modern fungicides

Luna products combine fluopyram with a second fungicide. Zato's active ingredient is trifloxystrobin. Both are used in orchards and vineyards against scab and powdery mildew.

Their weakness is resistance: spray the same chemical group repeatedly and the fungus adapts. Alternate groups, and never exceed the label's applications per season.

How to read the "dose" on the label

Labels give the dose in one of two ways:

• per 10 litres of water, for a hand or backpack sprayer
• per hectare, for field use

The most common mistake in home gardens is converting a per-hectare rate. One hectare is 10,000 m², or 100 sotkas, so an error in the conversion multiplies the dose many times over. Measure with a syringe or a measuring cup, not by the cap.

Don't add extra to be safe. A higher dose burns leaves and speeds up resistance.

Also check the pre-harvest interval on the label: the number of days that must pass between the last spray and picking your tomatoes or grapes. Buy only products registered for use in Georgia, with a Georgian label.

Spraying safely

• Wear gloves, a mask, glasses, and long sleeves.
• Spray only on a still day, with no rain forecast for the next few hours.
• Spray in the evening, when bees have stopped flying.
• Keep children and pets out of the area until the leaves are dry.
• Don't pour leftovers down the drain or into an irrigation channel.
• Store the product only in its original container.

What makes sense in November

Insecticides are pointless in November because insects are already overwintering. After leaf fall, do two jobs instead:

• Spray fruit trees and vines with copper, such as Bordeaux mixture, to reduce overwintering fungal spores.
• Remove fallen leaves under apple and pear trees. Scab overwinters in them.

If you're not sure what's attacking your garden, Dr. VERDE's seasonal agrotechnical works crew identifies the problem first, then chooses the product and timing. For year-round monitoring, a yard care subscription catches problems early. For vineyards and orchards, disease control is part of agro project management. See also pruning trees and shrubs, the other big winter job.