Twelve thousand to 16,000 ha of sugarcane production in South Louisiana were flooded by salt water from the Hurricane Rita storm surge in September 2005. A four treatment, 12-replication study comparing storm surge flooded and non-flooded plant and stubble sugarcane fields was conducted during the summer of 2006 to assess sugarcane borer (Diatraea saccharalis [F.]) pest severity, pest control actions, and soil-associated arthropod abundance and diversity. A 2.8-fold (P<0.05) reduction in red imported fire ants – the primary D. saccharalis predators – was associated to flooding by the storm surge, as well as a nearly significant (P= 0.07) 1.2-fold decrease in spider abundance. No reduction in the abundance of other soil-associated arthropods (predaceous and neutral) was recorded, and the resulting arthropod diversity (Shannon index) increased by a 1.3 factor (P<0.05) in sugarcane fields affected by the storm surge, probably due to the decrease in imported fire ants. Even with an overall 2.4-fold increase (P<0.05) in the average number of insecticide applications used per field for D. saccharalis management, growers still had higher injury (P<0.05). Though the hurricane enhanced a greater balance among soil-associated arthropods, this new balance disturbed the pest management stability between beneficial and pest arthropods requiring additional insecticide use. The disrupted insect pest management balance associated to the storm surge caused a loss in revenue between $1.9 million and $2.6 million to the Louisiana sugarcane industry for 2006.