What does a pest control technician do?
A pest control technician is responsible for dealing with pest problems and evaluating the correct processes and materials for eliminating them. Pest control technicians' duties include assessing the client's location to identify the source of the pest problem, responding to customers' inquiries and concerns, providing pest treatment options to the customers, spraying pesticides on the appropriate area, and adhering to safety procedures. A pest control technician must have comprehensive knowledge of chemical mixtures to ensure the safety of products used.
Pest control technician responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real pest control technician resumes:
- Apply exterior chemicals to manage and treat for insect and rodent infestations.
- Clean areas that harbor pests using rakes, brooms, shovels, and mops.
- Follow all OSHA safety guidelines while performing work on rooftops, ladders, and man lifts.
- Used simple and power tools, compress air sprayer, power sprayer, ladders and pest control specific equipment.
- Drive to appointments, greet customer and tend to pest control needs with a careful and consider IPM plan.
- Use GPS to locate, record, and update data base.
- Work with caulking and sheetrock mud.
- Enter data into handheld Juno Trimble GPS unit.
- Fill in on mowing and landscape crews when need.
- Used multiple tools including weed eater, shovels and rakes.
- Maintain and run second largest account in company by myself.
- Check pool vehicles, parking passes and lifts out to personnel.
- Maintain a current MSDS and pesticide label book for all pesticides used.
- Have learned all aspects of the company including customer service and termite installations.
- Record keeping for apply pesticides in accordance to USDA and ISDA rules and laws.
Pest control technician skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Pest Control Technicians are proficient in Safety Procedures, Work Ethic, and Basic Math. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Detail oriented, and Physical stamina.
We break down the percentage of Pest Control Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Safety Procedures, 16%
Located and applied pesticides to infestations according to schedule, safety procedures and product instructions.
- Work Ethic, 15%
Acknowledged for the ability to learn and master new concepts; positive work ethic; and excellent customer service skills
- Basic Math, 15%
Completed paperwork, applied basic math and measurement skills.
- Crawl Spaces, 14%
Maneuvered through customer's crawl spaces and inspected in customer's homes to assess and treat for termites and pest infestation.
- Pest Management, 5%
Communicated regularly with plant sanitation management to implement and integrate pest management program to best fit their needs.
- Ladders, 5%
Inspected buildings and outside areas, frequently using up to 32 foot ladders, for signs of infestation and animal entry.
Common skills that a pest control technician uses to do their job include "safety procedures," "work ethic," and "basic math." You can find details on the most important pest control technician responsibilities below.
Customer-service skills. One of the key soft skills for a pest control technician to have is customer-service skills. You can see how this relates to what pest control technicians do because "pest control workers should be friendly and polite when they interact with customers at their homes or businesses." Additionally, a pest control technician resume shows how pest control technicians use customer-service skills: "serviced residential properties regular route of over 700 customers with a eye towards customer satisfaction. "
Detail oriented. Many pest control technician duties rely on detail oriented. "because pest control workers apply potentially toxic chemicals, they must be able to follow instructions precisely to prevent harm to residents, pets, the environment, and themselves.," so a pest control technician will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways pest control technician responsibilities rely on detail oriented: "performed integrated pest management, including the preparation of detailed service reports. "
Physical stamina. pest control technicians are also known for physical stamina, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to pest control technician responsibilities, because "pest control workers may spend hours standing, bending, kneeling, or crawling." A pest control technician resume example shows how physical stamina is used in the workplace: "provide and maintain safe physical conditions for employees assigned to spray duties, per osha standards. "
The three companies that hire the most pest control technicians are:
- Arrow Exterminators416 pest control technicians jobs
- Terminix282 pest control technicians jobs
- Shields110 pest control technicians jobs
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Compare different pest control technicians
Pest control technician vs. Hand spray operator
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between pest control technicians and hand spray operator. For instance, pest control technician responsibilities require skills such as "safety procedures," "work ethic," "strong work ethic," and "basic math." Whereas a hand spray operator is skilled in "rig," "general maintenance," "safety rules," and "power tools." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Hand spray operators tend to reach similar levels of education than pest control technicians. In fact, hand spray operators are 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Pest control technician vs. Termite exterminator helper
Each career also uses different skills, according to real pest control technician resumes. While pest control technician responsibilities can utilize skills like "safety procedures," "work ethic," "strong work ethic," and "basic math," termite exterminator helpers use skills like "outbound calls," "drill holes," "customer locations," and "insect."
Termite exterminator helpers earn similar levels of education than pest control technicians in general. They're 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Pest control technician vs. Fumigator
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a pest control technician is likely to be skilled in "safety procedures," "work ethic," "strong work ethic," and "basic math," while a typical fumigator is skilled in "cdl," "drivers license," "calculates volume," and "sandbags."
Fumigators typically earn similar educational levels compared to pest control technicians. Specifically, they're 1.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Pest control technician vs. Termite supervisor
Types of pest control technician
Updated January 8, 2025
