Greater demand for organic cotton has created the need for an efficacious and economical insect pest management system. Beneficial insect habitat borders have been shown to increase numbers of predatory insects when planted near cotton. The current study evaluated whether habitat borders reduced cotton pest populations and crop damage in 2004 and 2005. A "conventional" (best management practices) treatment was compared with two organic treatments - one with and one without habitat borders. The habitat treatment consisted of an organic cotton plot bordered and bisected by a 3 m wide mixed planting of soybean, millet, and buckwheat. Beneficial insects were monitored by sweep net, sticky traps, and pitfall traps. Pest populations were monitored by methods appropriate to the developmental stage of the cotton and pest species populations. Organic and conventional insecticides were applied if necessary. Observation of the fate of bollworm Helicoverpa zea eggs was used as a measure of egg parasitism and predation. Damage to cotton plant structures, yield and quality were also recorded.