How To Become A Pesticides Applicator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a pesticides applicator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a pesticides applicator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $15.76 an hour? That's $32,778 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 61,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePesticides ApplicatorUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $32,778

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.1

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.69%

Asian 0.38%

Black or African American 1.54%

Hispanic or Latino 15.77%

Unknown 3.08%

White 76.54%

Gender

female 7.40%

male 92.60%

Age - 42

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 - 42

Stress level

8.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.6

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a pesticides applicator

Explore pesticides applicator education requirements

Most common pesticides applicator degrees

High School Diploma

30.2 %

Associate

28.1 %

Bachelor's

26.1 %

Start to develop specific pesticides applicator skills

Skills	Percentages
PPE	40.25%
CDL	11.07%
Pest Control	7.11%
Mowing	7.08%
Lawn Care	7.01%

Complete relevant pesticides applicator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New pesticides applicators 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 a pesticides applicator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real pesticides applicator resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed pesticides applicator usually doesn't require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed pesticides applicator in most of states. 29 states require pesticides applicators to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License url
Alabama	-	-	Professional Fumigation Pest Control Operator (FC)
Alaska	-	State exam required	Pesticide Applicator
California	Specific course required	State exam required	Qualified Applicator Certificate
Colorado	-	State exam required	Commercial Applicator's License (Pesticides)
Georgia	-	State exam required	Pesticide Applicator

Research pesticides applicator duties and responsibilities

Maintain pesticide application logs per EPA and VA state regulations.
Certify applicator who is licensed in pest and termite that provides services to both residential and commercial businesses.
Preform all troubleshooting and diagnostics for termite infestations.
Maintain cleanliness and organization of company vehicles and property.

Prepare your pesticides applicator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your pesticides applicator 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 a pesticides applicator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable pesticides applicator resume templates

Build a professional pesticides applicator 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 pesticides applicator resume.