Corn rootworm populations have been high the last couple of seasons. The higher density of the pest generates questions concerning the effectiveness of corn rootworm controls that have been used, especially insecticides. Corn rootworm infestations, and their injury, tend to be variable (spotty) across a field of corn. If more then a node of roots has been destroyed and there is a wind, the corn is likely to be lodged. The lodging provides a visual manifestation of the corn rootworm larval feeding. Because the infestations are not uniform across a field, the lodging is also variable. If one were to want to obtain the worst possible root-injury rating for the field, they would select lodged plants to dig and rate. If one wanted to produce a lower rating, say if they were responsible for the product applied to control the rootworm, they could choose plants that were not lodged. Therefore the rating of corn rootworm larval injury to corn can be biased by selectively sampling plants based on the above ground appearance, lodged or not lodged. To be fair to growers AND the vendor of a rootworm control product, an unbiased sampling program should be used.