Heliothine Trap Counts, May 20, 2026

Bollworm and tobacco budworm pheromone traps have been placed in several counties again this year to monitor the flights of these insect pests. While pheromone trap counts can be used to inform farmers and consultants of potential insect pressure in the region, these counts should never be used as a substitute for in-field monitoring. The attractiveness of your field compared to others in the local landscape is an important factor that impacts the level of pressure your crop will experience that is not measured by a pheromone trap. In each reported county, there are 3 or 4 pheromone traps for each species. The average of the traps (average moths caught per trap) for each county is reported. The bollworm counts this week are at or below average for this time of year, and tobacco budworm catches were near zero.