How do I get training for pest control?

All pesticide applicators in the United States come under the jurisdiction of the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). But each state has a ';lead agency'; (usually the state's department of Agriculture or Environmental Protection) that actually implements the FIFRA requirements, and they do so quite differently. So what appears here is very general in nature. For more accurate information, contact your state's pesticide lead agency or Cooperative Extension department.





In most states, candidates to become certified pesticide applicators must be at least 18 years of age and have a certain amount of experience working under a certified person.





Applicants to become certified must also ';be of good character.'; Different states interpret this differently. In almost all cases, convictions for certain crimes involving the environment, pollution, or terrorism will bar an applicant from working with pesticides. Other convictions may or may not prevent certification, depending on the state and the nature and circumstances of the conviction.