ILLINOIS PESTICIDE APPLICATOR STUDY 2026
EXAM GUIDED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE
A+
IPM - ✔✔Integrated Pest Management; Goals are provide economical pest
control/protect the environment
✔✔Not The Goal Of IPM - ✔✔Elimination of all pests
✔✔Economic threshold/action threshold - ✔✔Number of pests per plant of amount of
damage to plant at which control measures should begin
✔✔economic injury level - ✔✔breakeven point which the cost of pest control equals the
revenue loss caused by pest
✔✔aesthetic injury level - ✔✔number of pests that might cause enough damage to the
appearance of a plant to warrant the cost of control
✔✔scouting - ✔✔key to a successful IPM program
✔✔cultural control - ✔✔improves plant health so that plants are able to compete better
against pests; soil preparation, fertility, proper planting, plant selection, crop rotation
, ✔✔mechanical control - ✔✔physically eliminates the weed; hoeing, weed pulling,
mowing, hand picking
✔✔biological control - ✔✔uses living organisms to reduce pest populations; predators,
parasites, pest disease
✔✔preventative control - ✔✔helps prevent entry and spread of pests; quarantines
inspections, certified seed, cleaning equipment
✔✔chemical control - ✔✔herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, repellents, fumigants
✔✔insect head - ✔✔contains sensory organs, mouth parts and brain
✔✔insect thorax - ✔✔provides locomotion, legs and wings
✔✔insect abdomen - ✔✔digestive, excretory, circulatory, respiratory, and reproductive
organs
✔✔prolegs - ✔✔additional legs; caterpillars/sawfly larvae
✔✔incomplete development/simple metamorphosis - ✔✔egg, nymph, adult; stink bug,
grasshopper, leafhopper
✔✔complete development - ✔✔egg, larva, pupa, adult; Japanese beetle, honey bee,
mosquito
✔✔noninfectious diseases - ✔✔result of unfavorable growing conditions; cannot be
transmitted from plant to plant
✔✔infection diseases - ✔✔caused by various pathogens; multiply and transmitted from
plant to plant
✔✔fungi - ✔✔spores spread by rain, wind, insects, seeds; leaf spots/root rots
✔✔bacteria - ✔✔microscopic single celled organisms. Cannot move by themselves;
only enter through wounds or small openings; crown gall, soft rot
✔✔nematodes - ✔✔microscopic roundworms that reproduce by eggs; spread by
anything that moves infected plants parts or infested soil
✔✔viruses - ✔✔submicroscopic pieces of DNA/RNA; spread by insects/seed;
mosaic/mottles
EXAM GUIDED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE
A+
IPM - ✔✔Integrated Pest Management; Goals are provide economical pest
control/protect the environment
✔✔Not The Goal Of IPM - ✔✔Elimination of all pests
✔✔Economic threshold/action threshold - ✔✔Number of pests per plant of amount of
damage to plant at which control measures should begin
✔✔economic injury level - ✔✔breakeven point which the cost of pest control equals the
revenue loss caused by pest
✔✔aesthetic injury level - ✔✔number of pests that might cause enough damage to the
appearance of a plant to warrant the cost of control
✔✔scouting - ✔✔key to a successful IPM program
✔✔cultural control - ✔✔improves plant health so that plants are able to compete better
against pests; soil preparation, fertility, proper planting, plant selection, crop rotation
, ✔✔mechanical control - ✔✔physically eliminates the weed; hoeing, weed pulling,
mowing, hand picking
✔✔biological control - ✔✔uses living organisms to reduce pest populations; predators,
parasites, pest disease
✔✔preventative control - ✔✔helps prevent entry and spread of pests; quarantines
inspections, certified seed, cleaning equipment
✔✔chemical control - ✔✔herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, repellents, fumigants
✔✔insect head - ✔✔contains sensory organs, mouth parts and brain
✔✔insect thorax - ✔✔provides locomotion, legs and wings
✔✔insect abdomen - ✔✔digestive, excretory, circulatory, respiratory, and reproductive
organs
✔✔prolegs - ✔✔additional legs; caterpillars/sawfly larvae
✔✔incomplete development/simple metamorphosis - ✔✔egg, nymph, adult; stink bug,
grasshopper, leafhopper
✔✔complete development - ✔✔egg, larva, pupa, adult; Japanese beetle, honey bee,
mosquito
✔✔noninfectious diseases - ✔✔result of unfavorable growing conditions; cannot be
transmitted from plant to plant
✔✔infection diseases - ✔✔caused by various pathogens; multiply and transmitted from
plant to plant
✔✔fungi - ✔✔spores spread by rain, wind, insects, seeds; leaf spots/root rots
✔✔bacteria - ✔✔microscopic single celled organisms. Cannot move by themselves;
only enter through wounds or small openings; crown gall, soft rot
✔✔nematodes - ✔✔microscopic roundworms that reproduce by eggs; spread by
anything that moves infected plants parts or infested soil
✔✔viruses - ✔✔submicroscopic pieces of DNA/RNA; spread by insects/seed;
mosaic/mottles
