Boll Weevil and Pink Bollworm declared eradicated in El Paso County

The Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation, Inc. (TBWEF) has placed the boll weevil and the pink bollworm in the status of ERADICATED. No cotton grower will shed a tear to see these major pests go. Last year (2012), a few pink bollworm moths captured in the traps had to be evaluated more closely, but finally were determined to be sterile. In 2012, TBWEF placed 1 trap every 10 acres in non-Bt fields, but this year they have reduced this rate in half (1 trap/20 acres). The rate for non-Bt fields continues to be 1 trap per field regardless its size. Last year, the program released almost 15 million sterile moths (14,833,784 to be exact). No releases of sterile pink bollworm moths are planned for this year.