The third step in eradication 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.

Trapping is the first line of attack in boll weevil eradication operations. Trapping identifies the location of boll weevil populations and measures their densities.

Mapping is one of the first phases of operations in any eradication zone. The purpose of mapping is to identify the exact location of each cotton field as well as its surrounding environment.