Insect and mite control failures have been recurrent problems in cotton insect management due to resistance and innate tolerance to various classes of organic insecticides in both key and secondary pests of cotton. Approaches to dealing with these problems may differ because of differences in risk perception. Managing for efficient and profitable cotton production by removing insect and mite pests as limiting factors in the crop's development is usually the priority objective of a cotton producer for his cotton insect management system. Current choices of insect control tactics are also affected by other factors such as the need to reduce selection pressure for pyrethroid resistance and the need to limit secondary pest problems. A predominantly urban society's concerns about pesticide pollution, as well as our own values, demand that cotton producers address the problem, both by education to correct misperceptions and by eliminating the real hazards.