We’ve had a recent spike of tarnished plant bug movement into cotton fields in many areas, and I’ve received a number of calls about what to spray. There are several options to consider. Once blooming has begun or when nymphs become more common, I suggest switching away from neonicotinoids like imidacloprid, Belay or Centric. We need to put these products on the shelf during bloom for resistance management reasons and because they do not work great at controlling immatures. Some will choose to make one final application with these products, and this would be a good time to consider adding 5-6 oz/acre of Diamond.

Some common insecticide choices during early bloom are to tank mix Bidrin or Acephate with Diamond or apply Transform (1.5 oz/ace). Some may elect to run straight Bidrin or Acephate, although the rates used should be higher than if tank mixing with Diamond. I prefer to save my Acephate until later, but these are all viable options.

It’s important to get your drop cloth out and monitor immature plant bug populations (and well as stink bugs) once blooming begins.