The boll weevil eradication program in Texas began in 1994 in an effort to rid the state of the cotton boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis Boheman.

The program was first initiated in the Southern Rolling Plains (SRP) on 220,000 acres of cotton in September 1994 with the diapause phase, followed by season-long phases of the program in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998. The confirmation phase which is a transitional phase between eradication and post eradication was successfully implemented in 1999. The SRP is scheduled to formally be declared eradicated in the year 2000.

Boll weevil populations in the SRP were almost nonexistent during the 1999 cotton growing season. The seasonal mean number of boll weevils captured per trap per week in 1999 was significantly less than in 1998, 1997, 1996, and 1995. The mean in 1999 was 0.002, in 1998 it was 0.04, in 1997 it was 1.3, in 1996 it was 2.9, and in 1995 it was 10.6. This represents a reduction of 99.98% in 1999 compared with 1995. Insecticide applications in 1999 were reduced by 96.3% compared with 1995.

In 1996, the program began with the diapause phase in the South Texas/Winter Garden (ST/WG) and in the Rolling Plains Central (RPC) zones on approximately 350,000 and 700,000 acres respectively. In 1997, because of the suspension of field activity during the legal and the legislative process (May-June 1997), program plans in the ST/WG and RPC had to be altered. A second diapause phase was implemented in 1997 instead of the season-long phase. The first season-long phase was implemented in both zones in 1998, and the second was implemented in 1999.

In the ST/WG zone, the seasonal mean number of boll weevils per trap per week in 1999 was significantly less than in 1998 , 1997, and 1996. The 1999 mean was 1.1, in 1998 it was 2.4, in 1997 it was 10.9, and 1996 it was 15.3, a reduction of 92.8% in 1999 compared with 1996.

In the RPC zone, the seasonal mean number of boll weevils per trap per week in 1999 was significantly less than in 1998, 1997, and 1996. The 1999 mean was 0.16, in 1998 it was 1.1, in 1997 it was 13.7, and in1996 it was 18.3, a reduction of 99.1% in 1999 compared with 1996.

These results demonstrate that the area-wide eradication approach, utilizing pheromone traps with sound cultural, mechanical, and chemical controls, represents an effective strategy in reducing boll weevil populations, ultimately eliminating the most destructive cotton pest in the state.

In 1999, the program expanded to include five additional zones. The diapause phase of the program was implemented in the Western High Plains (WHP) on approximately 750,000 acres, the Northwest Plains (NWP) on approximately 450,000 acres, the El Paso/Trans Pecos (EP/TP) on approximately 65,000 acres, the Permian Basin (PB) on approximately 720,000 acres, and the Northern Rolling Plains (NRP) on approximately 300,000 acres. With more than 3.6 million acres under eradication, the Texas program represents the largest boll weevil eradication campaign in U.S. history.