Sweep net, Insectavac and visual (whole plant examination) sampling methods were compared by taking weekly samples of insect pests and beneficial arthropods associated with cotton from June 11- Sept 8, 1993 at two locations at Las Cruces, New Mexico. The analysis of variance on weighted means showed no significant difference between Insectavac and visual sampling methods; however, there was a significant difference between sweep-net and the Insectavac and visual sampling methods. The Insectavac caught more insects per unit area than the other sampling methods in this study. The efficiency of the three methods was 1 : 0.764 : 0.18 for the Insectavac, visual and sweep net methods respectively at the Sewer Farm location, while the efficiency of the three sampling methods was 1: 0.833 : 0.306 at the Plant Science Farm location.