Several electric power generating plants in California use crop residues for fuel. Storing cotton residues could harbor and concentrate pink bollworm providing an excellent environment for overwintering survival. A forage harvester was used to process cotton residue to destroy pink bollworm. Research conducted at the University of California Imperial Valley Agricultural Center determined the percent survival of pink bollworm after cotton stalks were finely chopped. Overwintering survival of pink bollworm in processed cotton residue was used to determine the feasibility of safe storage of finely chopped cotton residue. The results indicate that with a monitoring program and sterile release, if necessary, cotton crop residues processed through a forage harvester could be stored safely when the harvested crop residue is taken from areas of sparse