Recent research efforts have served to document the critical importance of controlling early-season insect pests on cotton. A result of this increased awareness has been a trend towards greater reliance on the application of foliar insecticides, especially pyrethroids. The use of systemic, soil-applied insecticide/nematicides such as TEMIK^® 15G aldicarb on cotton not only provides effective control of early-season insects without adversely affecting beneficial species, but also offers the added benefit of control of nematodes which can be serious, if often unrecognized, pests of cotton. With attention focused on integrated pest management, the proper use of all pest management tools, including insecticide/nematicides, deserves renewed examination as effective components of IPM.