The third step
is treatment or control. When a certain number of weevils, called the
“trigger level,” have been caught in the traps around a field, the
field receives an insecticide application. The insecticide used in the
program is malathion. This product is quite effective and is one of
the safest insecticides of any being sold for use around humans,
birds, pets and domestic animals. Malathion is commonly used in yards
and gardens and is routinely used by cities for mosquito control. In
boll weevil eradication, the rate of the product used on an acre is 12
fluid ounces. To illustrate, this is like spreading a 12-ounce can of
soda over an area the size of a football field.
In addition to chemical control, the boll weevil eradication program
relies on and promotes farmers using cultural controls such as
planting during the most advantageous periods of time, using rapidly
maturing varieties, harvesting early and thoroughly and destroying
crop residues and failed plantings in a timely manner.