Eleven non-pyrethroid insecticide treatments were evaluated in a field study to find a suitable alternative to the pyrethroid class of insecticide against Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) and Heliothis virescens on cotton (Gossypium hirsutum (L.)) in South Carolina. Tests were conducted at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center in Florence and at the Edisto Research Education Center in Blackville. Thiodicarb + amitraz (0.75 + 0.125), thiodicarb (0.75), and 1-cyhalothrin (0.025), a pyrethroid check proved to be efficacious against H. zea and H. virescens larvae. Yields in both locations were also greater with the above insecticide treatments. Profenofos + amitraz (0.75 + 0.125) also produced high yields at Florence. Thiodicarb provided a lower reduction of beneficial arthropods than the pyrethroid in both tests. Thiodicarb alone or in combination with amitraz appears to be a promising alternative to the pyrethroid class.