NC Pesticide Application License Exam Questions And Answers

Chapter 1: General-Use Pesticide - ANS Not that harmful You do not need to be certified to apply Restricted-Use Pesticide - ANS Can be harmful to humans and the environment You must be a CERTIFIED applicator or supervised by one Private Pesticide Applicator Definition Examples - ANS Use or supervise use of RESTRICTED-USE Pesticides on their own property, rented property, or employer property Farmer, nursery operator, sod producers Commercial Pesticide Applicator - ANS Use or supervise use of RESTRICTED-USE Pesticides on someone elses' property for payment Public Applicator - ANS Use or supervise use of RESTRICTED-USE Pesticides as part of government job Structural Pest Control Operator 3 Areas - ANS Must be licensed or supervised by a licensed person. Use Restricted-Use pesticides in or around STRUCTURES Household, Wood Destroying, Fumigation How do I get Certified as a Commercial Applicator - ANS Pass 2 exams (core and specialized), lasts 5 years How do I get Re-Certified as a Commercial Applicator - ANS Earn the required hours of Continuing Education or Take and Pass the exams again How do I get Licensed as a Commercial Applicator - ANS Pass both core and specialty exam and earn License - Must renew at the end of each year How do I get Certified as a Structural Pesticide Applicator - ANS Pass Core exam and an exam in each of the 3 phases (household, wood destroying, fumigation) How do I get Re-Certified as a Structural Pesticide Applicator - ANS Complete needed continuing education or re-take and pass exams How do I get Licensed as a Structural Pesticide Applicator - ANS Be certified in the area, have 2 year's of experience How long does a Structural Pest Control License last? - ANS 5 years What are the Categories of Licensing for Certification as a Commercial Applicator - ANS Registered Technician Non-Commercial Certified Applicator Commercial Certified Applicator License Can Structural Pest Control Applicators Work for Hire on their own? - ANS They have to work for a licensed pest control company Chapter 2: Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide (FIFRA) Act - ANS Ruled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Register products based on possible effects to people and the environment What is important about a Pesticide Label - ANS People who don't follow it are BREAKING THE LAW What does the EPA do? - ANS Re-evaluate older pesticides Review every pesticide on a 15 year cycle Establish safety rules for workers What can STATES do to regulate pesticides? - ANS They must follow EPA guidelines at a minimum They can make even harder guidelines Is there a special ACT that relates to food and feed products? - ANS Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act established tolerance levels for food - how much residue of a pesticide is allowed Food Quality Protection Act - ANS Requires the EPA to establish a tolerance low enough that no harm can come to humans or environment Hazard Communication Standards Act - ANS Requires employers to list all hazardous chemicals in the workplace, obtain material safety data on each one, ensure containers are labeled, train workers how to deal with materials NC Pesticide Law if 1971 - ANS established management program designed to regulate the registration, handling, storage and disposal of pesticides manage licensing for all pesticide users (EXCEPT Structural - they are handled by another law) How should you STORE pesticides? - ANS Tightly sealed labeled dry Not around food Not around combustible (FIRE Causing) materials What does the NC Pesticide Board do? - ANS Adopts regulations that detail acceptable pesticide use and licensing What is a VERTEBRATE? - ANS An animal with jointed backbones - mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish Can a VERTEBRATE be a PEST? - ANS Yes if it brings injury to plants, humans, domestic animals, or substances If the Pesticide Board thinks a vertebrate is a pest what do they do? - ANS Contact Wildlife resources - but if they disagree, no pesticide can be used Vertebrate Pests that it is OK to use pesticides on - ANS black or roof rat, Norway rat, pine vole, house mouse, boat-tailed grackle, pigeon, brown-headed cowbird, common grackle, English sparrow, red-wing and common black bird, gulls, starling List the 4 Main Groups of Pests - ANS Weeds Inveterbrates (insects) Disease Agents or pathogens (bacteria, fungus) Vertebrates (rodents. birds) Chapter 3: 3 Pest Management Goals - ANS Prevention - keep it from happening Suppression - reduce levels Eradication - eliminate totally Why is identification, monitoring and treatment threshold important? - ANS Pest control can fail if you don't know what you are treating, identification can help you find the best thing to use as treatment Treatment Threshold - ANS Determine if you need to use any treatment. If treatment would cause more harm and cost more, sometimes you should wait or let the pest stay Ways to control pests without pesticides - ANS Natural control (weather, climate) Biological - using natural enemies mechanical - screens, traps, fences Cultural - alter the environment to help with control (example - crop rotation) Physical or Environmental - like lower humidity, refrigeration Host Resistance - some plants are naturally resistant or can be genetically altered to be resistant How do you do Integrated Pest Management? (IPM) - ANS identify the pest monitor the pest determine if threshold levels have been reached (will the damage caused by doing nothing be bad enough to warrant treatment?) consider various choices implement the least harmful choice record and evaluate