How To Become An Exterminator: What It Is and Career Path

What is an exterminator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an exterminator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $19.29 an hour? That's $40,124 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 6,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreExterminatorUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $40,124

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.8

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.90%

Asian 2.04%

Black or African American 11.19%

Hispanic or Latino 21.30%

Unknown 4.76%

White 59.81%

Gender

female 7.22%

male 92.78%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.3

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an exterminator

Explore exterminator education requirements

Most common exterminator degrees

High School Diploma

52.5 %

Diploma

15.5 %

Associate

13.0 %

Start to develop specific exterminator skills

Skills	Percentages
Pest Control	61.60%
Bed Bugs	10.48%
Rats	8.66%
Pest Management	3.35%
Snakes	1.84%

Complete relevant exterminator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New exterminators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an exterminator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real exterminator resumes.

Research exterminator duties and responsibilities

Apply exterior chemicals to manage and treat for insect and rodent infestations.
Control roaches, ants, rodents, birds, snakes, termites, etc.
Remove wildlife including bats, birds, raccoon's, skunks, snakes, squirrels and other animals.
Utilize the appropriate IPM method for each client ensuring they have the proper treatments need to resolve issues.

Prepare your exterminator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your exterminator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an exterminator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable exterminator resume templates

Build a professional exterminator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your exterminator resume.