Until 1998, the federal government paid for 30 percent of the cost to wipe out boll weevils in states that set up eradication programs. The federal share dropped to 10 percent in 1999, Combs said. Boll weevils, native to Mexico, showed up on the border near Brownsville in 1894. Since then, they have spread steadily into Texas and other states. They lay their eggs in cotton squares and bolls, which damages the cotton and decreases the amount of fiber.
Boll weevils are the top threat to cotton, Texas' largest cash crop.
State lawmakers approved setting up a statewide eradication program in 1993, after then-Gov. Ann Richards declared eradication an emergency item. Earlier this year, state officials declared the Southern Rolling Plains Eradication Zone boll weevil-free. It was the first zone in Texas to eliminate boll weevils. The growers in the Southern Rolling Plains put an incredible amount of effort and dedication into achieving eradication in their area,'' said Lindy Patton, executive director of the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation.