A beat bucket procedure using a five gallon, white plastic bucket was a rapid and reliable method for sampling predatory insects and spiders common in cotton in central Texas. This method was faster and more reliable than use of a sweep net, shake bucket or visual search of the plant and was less tedious than using a drop cloth for most predator groups. The beat bucket technique should be useful for determining densities of common predators of bollworm, budworms, other caterpillar pests and aphids in a cotton field scouting program.