(Iowa Pesticide Applicator: 2026-2027)
Intro: Types of pesticide applicators in Iowa
Commercial Applicators (another person for compensation); Public Applicators (as employee govt agencies);
Noncommercial Applicators (property owned, rented, or leased by the applicator or the applicator's employer);
Private Applicators (agricultural); Certified Handlers (preparing, mixing, or loading pesticides)
Intro: Describe certification & recertification requirements
Certification: Employed by a certified, licensed company; fee paid to IDALS; 21-day grace period (direct
supervision); closed-book exam. Recertification: 3-year qualification cycle; renewable by either testing every third
year or attending approved continuing instruction courses (CIC); core & categories; fee & you get a form.
C1: What agency regulates pesticide use in US
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
C1: Summarize pesticide registration & re-registration
FIFRA requires the EPA to regulate the sale & use & they do this through registration & labeling of pesticide
products; human health & the environment. Re-registration FIFRA requires EPA to conduct comprehensive reviews
of older pesticides human health & environmental effects
C1: Understand the penalties for violations of FIFRA
Violations of the legal provisions established in FIFRA civil penalties as much as $6,500 for each offense; violation
of the law also may subject you to criminal penalties up to $25,000 or one year in prison, or both.
C1: FIFRA
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (1947) regulates the production, transportation, sale, use, &
disposal of all pesticides
C1: FFDCA
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act sets allowable residue levels to ensure the safety of the food supply
C1: FQPA
Food Quality Protection Act amended both FIFRA & FFDCA & set a tougher standard for pesticides on food.
C1: Residues & Tolerances
Residues: Small amounts of pesticides on fruits, vegetables, grains, other foods, & animal feeds. Tolerances: the EPA
sets allowable residue levels under FFDCA regs, safe tolerances "a reasonable certainty of no harm".
C1: How does the ESA relate to pesticides
The Endangered Species Act (ESA): Pesticides use may directly or indirectly, through drift and runoff, affect
endangered or threatened species & their habitat.
3/7/2026, 1:10:13 AM
, (Iowa Pesticide Applicator: 2026-2027)
C1: Summarize RCRA
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) gives EPA the authority to control hazardous waste from the
"cradle-to-grave", rinsates & hazardous waste; become solid wastes when you want to discard.
C1: Who is protected by the WPS
Worker Protection Standard (WPS) helps protect employees on farms, forests, nurseries, & greenhouses from
occupational exposure.
C2: List the requirements of pesticide applicator records
1) Name & certification number of licensee; 2) Name & address of landowner or customer; 3) Address of the place
of application of pesticide; 4) Date of application; 5) Trade name of pesticide;
6) Quantity of pesticide used & the concentration or rate of application; 7) Temperature and direction & velocity of
wind; 8) the use of "restricted use" pesticides; 9) Time pesticide application begins & ends.
C2: Describe the Sensitive Crops Directory
It is an online registry to identify locations of pesticide-sensitive crops & apiaries (bee yards): vineyards, orchards,
certified organic crops, and fruit & vegetable crops. Susceptible to drift & meet minimum acreage requirements.
C2: Iowa Bee Rule
Owners of apiaries shall register location (expires Dec 31); shall not apply a pesticide labeled as toxic to bees within
1 mile of apiaries between 8 am & 6 pm (registered on 1st day of month)
C2: List the notification requirements for urban pesticide applications
Notification: must post signs at the start of application; display signs for at least 24 hrs after the application (longer if
label requires); does not apply to pesticides applied within a structure or within 6 ft of the outside perimeter of a
structure, nor to the homeowner or tenant. Also, prenotification, durable signs, remove, provide label
C2: Summarize the Iowa atrazine management rules
Atrazine is a restricted use pesticide due to ground & surface water concerns. Atrazine application rates are limited to
2.5 lbs per acre per calendar year; restricts rates to 1.5 lbs in 23 counties (7 county -wide 16 in some townships); may
not be mixed, loaded, or repackaged within 50 feet of a sinkhole, well, cistern, lake, water impoundment, this
includes, but is not limited to, abandoned wells, agricultural drainage wells & drainage well surface inlets, &
drinking water wells; atrazine mixing, loading, & equipment cleanout must meet the secondary containment
requirements in the Iowa administrative code.
C2: Recognize the requirements of on-site containment of pesticides
All non-mobile bulk pesticide storage containers must be located within a watertight secondary containment facility,
a structure used to prevent runoff or leaching of pesticide materials. If you store for more than 30 days & mix more
than 300 gal and/or 300 lbs, your facility is considered a permanent storage & mixing site. Paved & sloped &
elevated, curbed; engineer's design, plans IDALS; rainwater, cracks; washing, rinsates.
C2: Penalties for violations of the Pesticide Act of Iowa
If you violate any provisions of Pesticide Act of Iowa (PAI), max civil penalty must not exceed $500 per violation;
3/7/2026, 1:10:13 AM
Intro: Types of pesticide applicators in Iowa
Commercial Applicators (another person for compensation); Public Applicators (as employee govt agencies);
Noncommercial Applicators (property owned, rented, or leased by the applicator or the applicator's employer);
Private Applicators (agricultural); Certified Handlers (preparing, mixing, or loading pesticides)
Intro: Describe certification & recertification requirements
Certification: Employed by a certified, licensed company; fee paid to IDALS; 21-day grace period (direct
supervision); closed-book exam. Recertification: 3-year qualification cycle; renewable by either testing every third
year or attending approved continuing instruction courses (CIC); core & categories; fee & you get a form.
C1: What agency regulates pesticide use in US
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
C1: Summarize pesticide registration & re-registration
FIFRA requires the EPA to regulate the sale & use & they do this through registration & labeling of pesticide
products; human health & the environment. Re-registration FIFRA requires EPA to conduct comprehensive reviews
of older pesticides human health & environmental effects
C1: Understand the penalties for violations of FIFRA
Violations of the legal provisions established in FIFRA civil penalties as much as $6,500 for each offense; violation
of the law also may subject you to criminal penalties up to $25,000 or one year in prison, or both.
C1: FIFRA
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (1947) regulates the production, transportation, sale, use, &
disposal of all pesticides
C1: FFDCA
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act sets allowable residue levels to ensure the safety of the food supply
C1: FQPA
Food Quality Protection Act amended both FIFRA & FFDCA & set a tougher standard for pesticides on food.
C1: Residues & Tolerances
Residues: Small amounts of pesticides on fruits, vegetables, grains, other foods, & animal feeds. Tolerances: the EPA
sets allowable residue levels under FFDCA regs, safe tolerances "a reasonable certainty of no harm".
C1: How does the ESA relate to pesticides
The Endangered Species Act (ESA): Pesticides use may directly or indirectly, through drift and runoff, affect
endangered or threatened species & their habitat.
3/7/2026, 1:10:13 AM
, (Iowa Pesticide Applicator: 2026-2027)
C1: Summarize RCRA
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) gives EPA the authority to control hazardous waste from the
"cradle-to-grave", rinsates & hazardous waste; become solid wastes when you want to discard.
C1: Who is protected by the WPS
Worker Protection Standard (WPS) helps protect employees on farms, forests, nurseries, & greenhouses from
occupational exposure.
C2: List the requirements of pesticide applicator records
1) Name & certification number of licensee; 2) Name & address of landowner or customer; 3) Address of the place
of application of pesticide; 4) Date of application; 5) Trade name of pesticide;
6) Quantity of pesticide used & the concentration or rate of application; 7) Temperature and direction & velocity of
wind; 8) the use of "restricted use" pesticides; 9) Time pesticide application begins & ends.
C2: Describe the Sensitive Crops Directory
It is an online registry to identify locations of pesticide-sensitive crops & apiaries (bee yards): vineyards, orchards,
certified organic crops, and fruit & vegetable crops. Susceptible to drift & meet minimum acreage requirements.
C2: Iowa Bee Rule
Owners of apiaries shall register location (expires Dec 31); shall not apply a pesticide labeled as toxic to bees within
1 mile of apiaries between 8 am & 6 pm (registered on 1st day of month)
C2: List the notification requirements for urban pesticide applications
Notification: must post signs at the start of application; display signs for at least 24 hrs after the application (longer if
label requires); does not apply to pesticides applied within a structure or within 6 ft of the outside perimeter of a
structure, nor to the homeowner or tenant. Also, prenotification, durable signs, remove, provide label
C2: Summarize the Iowa atrazine management rules
Atrazine is a restricted use pesticide due to ground & surface water concerns. Atrazine application rates are limited to
2.5 lbs per acre per calendar year; restricts rates to 1.5 lbs in 23 counties (7 county -wide 16 in some townships); may
not be mixed, loaded, or repackaged within 50 feet of a sinkhole, well, cistern, lake, water impoundment, this
includes, but is not limited to, abandoned wells, agricultural drainage wells & drainage well surface inlets, &
drinking water wells; atrazine mixing, loading, & equipment cleanout must meet the secondary containment
requirements in the Iowa administrative code.
C2: Recognize the requirements of on-site containment of pesticides
All non-mobile bulk pesticide storage containers must be located within a watertight secondary containment facility,
a structure used to prevent runoff or leaching of pesticide materials. If you store for more than 30 days & mix more
than 300 gal and/or 300 lbs, your facility is considered a permanent storage & mixing site. Paved & sloped &
elevated, curbed; engineer's design, plans IDALS; rainwater, cracks; washing, rinsates.
C2: Penalties for violations of the Pesticide Act of Iowa
If you violate any provisions of Pesticide Act of Iowa (PAI), max civil penalty must not exceed $500 per violation;
3/7/2026, 1:10:13 AM
