An experiment to assess the economics of manual and pre‐emergence herbicide treatments to control weeds in hybrid maize was carried out at Egerton University, Njoro, Kenya in 1988–9. All weed control methods were profitable, although two weedings by jembe hoe before flowering, the most commonly used method in the Kenya highlands, gave the greatest net profit and net gain. Plots treated with full herbicide rates did not yield significantly more than those treated with half rates, and net profit was about the same for both. Maize with weed control showed slightly increased levels ofBusseola fuscacompared to maize without weed control.