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Pest Control Workers

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Apply or release chemical solutions or toxic gases and set traps to kill or remove pests and vermin that infest buildings and surrounding areas.

Related: First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, & Groundskeeping Workers Hazardous Materials Removal Workers Landscaping & Groundskeeping Workers Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, & Applicators, Vegetation Septic Tank Servicers & Sewer Pipe Cleaners

Industries: Administration & Support Services

Summary
Details

Recommend treatment and prevention methods for pest problems to clients.
Study preliminary reports or diagrams of infested area and determine treatment type required to eliminate and prevent recurrence of infestation.
Inspect premises to identify infestation source and extent of damage to property, wall, or roof porosity and access to infested locations.
Cut or bore openings in building or surrounding concrete, access infested areas, insert nozzle, and inject pesticide to impregnate ground.
Measure area dimensions requiring treatment, calculate fumigant requirements, and estimate cost for service.
Set mechanical traps, or place poisonous paste or bait in sewers, burrows, or ditches.
Record work activities performed.
Direct, or assist other workers in, treatment or extermination processes to eliminate or control rodents, insects, or weeds.
Clean and remove blockages from infested areas to facilitate spraying procedures and provide drainage, using brooms, mops, shovels, or rakes.
Post warning signs and lock building doors to secure area to be fumigated.
Post warning signs and lock building doors to secure area to be fumigated.
Spray or dust chemical solutions, powders, or gases into rooms, onto clothing, furnishings, or wood, or over marshlands, ditches, or catch basins.
Clean work site after completion of job.
Drive truck equipped with power spraying equipment.

Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

50190/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

24.13/hr

Currently Employed

1,650

Yearly Projected Openings

240

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Integrity
Dependability
Attention to Detail
Independence
Cooperation
Stress Tolerance

Adjustable wrenches
Animal control traps
Brooms
Chemical resistant gloves
Chemical tanks
Claw hammer
Digital cameras
Dusters
Fog or mist generators
Gas generators
Goggles
Hand sprayers
Hazardous material protective apparel
Hazardous material protective footwear
Laser fax machine
Light trucks or sport utility vehicles
Locking pliers
Mixers or agitators
Notebook computers
Photocopiers
Pneumatic hammer
Pocket calculator
Power drills
Protective hood
Rakes
Respirators
Screwdrivers
Shovels
Sprayers
Two way radios
Vacuum cleaners
Wet mops

Accounting software
Calendar and scheduling software
Cloud-based data access and sharing software
Data base user interface and query software
Electronic mail software
Inventory management software
Office suite software
Spreadsheet software
Video creation and editing software
Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Pest Control Workers

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