The boll weevil is an insect that feeds on cotton buds and flowers and lays eggs in the flower buds of the cotton. These insects ruined the cotton fields in the South from 1915 to the early 1990s, when it was eliminated as an economic pest. Depletion of soil, bad farming habits, droughts, and boll weevil infestations caused Georgia to enter the Great Depression early. Although the droughts and boll weevils did cause Georgia to enter the Great Depression early, Georgia's land, economy, and farmers were already falling apart. The planting of cotton on every available acre of land depleted the soil and the careless farming practices drained the topsoil, leaving the land deteriorated. This caused most of the state's counties to go into poverty.