NC Pesticide Applicator Core Manual Exam Questions and Answers

Commercial Ground Applicator - Answer- anyone who uses or supervises the use of pesticides for compensation Public Operator - Answer- Anyone who applies or supervises the application of pesticides for government agencies Pesticide Dealer - Answer- Any individual who sells restricted-use pesticides to certified or licensed end-users Aerial Applicator - Answer- An individual who applies pesticides by aircraft Pest Control Consultant - Answer- Anyone who offers or supplies technical advice, supervision, or recommends the use of specific pesticides, for free. Structural Pest Control and Pesticide Division - Answer- Their purpose is to protect the health and safety of the public and the environment by regulating the structural pest control industry. Specialized phases of structural pest control - Answer- wood-destroying organism control, fumigation, household pest control Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) - Answer- regulates the production, transportation, sale, use, and disposal of all pesticides EPA - Answer- responsible for registering or authorizing pesticide products for use in the US Applies to all label statements - Answer- they have the force of law Food Quality Protection Act - Answer- requires EPA to review every registered pesticide on a 15 year cycle The EPA - Answer- Has the authority to stop the sale or use of any pesticide. Can seize products from the market. State restrictions - Answer- cannot be less stringent than those of FIFRA, but can be stricter Potential hazards - Answer- pesticides are classified according to this Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act - Answer- governs the establishment of pesticide tolerances for food and feed products. Tolerance - Answer- The maximum level of pesticide residues allowed in or on human food and animal feed. The EPA - Answer- sets the tolerance level of each pesticide Food and Drug administration - Answer- monitors the food and feed products tolerance violations The Food Quality Protection Act - Answer- established a health based standard to be used when assessing the risk of pesticide residues in food or feed. It requires the EPA to establish a tolerance based on "a reasonable certainty" that no harm results from sources of exposure. Worker Protection Standard - Answer- a regulation aimed at protecting employees on agricultural establishments from occupational exposure to pesticides The WPS - Answer- covers any pesticide with an "Agricultural Use Requirements" section on the label The WPS provides the following - Answer- safety training to workers and handlers PPE specified on the label warning to inform of applications, restricted entry intervals, and restricted areas decontamination supplies transport to a medical facility Occupational Safety and Health Act - Answer- requires that employers keep records of all work related deaths, illnesses, and injuries Hazard Communication Standard - Answer- requires employers to make lists of hazardous chemicals, keep safety data sheets, ensure proper labeling, train workers properly, keep files available Endangered Species Act - Answer- Federal law administered by US Fish and Wildlife Service which makes it illegal to kill, harm, or collect endangered or threatened wildlife. Requires other agencies to uphold this. North Carolina Pesticide Law of 1971 - Answer- establishes pesticide management programs designed to regulate the registration, handling, and storage, and disposal of pesticides as well as certification and licensing of pesticide applicators, consultants, and dealers. North Carolina Pesticide Law of 1971 - Answer- all uses of pesticides in NC are regulated under this, except those under the NC structural pest control act The North Carolina Pesticide Board (NCPB) - Answer- is responsible for carrying out provision of the NCPL NCDA&CS - Answer- conducts routine inspections of certified applicators, public agencies, and restricted use pesticide dealers. All pesticides must be registered through this agency. North Carolina Pesticide Storage Regulation - Answer- Pest - Answer- Any animal which an injure plants, humans, domestic animals, or substances. Commissioner of Agriculture or Pesticide Board - Answer- must notify Wildlife Resource Commission when a vertebrate animal is declared a pest NCDA&CS Pesticide Disposal Assistance Program - Answer- collects banned, outdated, or unwanted pesticides on Pesticide Disposal Collection Days Restricted use pesticide record must be kept - Answer- a minimum of 3 years Major types of pests - Answer- weeds, invertebrates, disease agents or pathogens, vertebrates Preventions - Answer- pre-plant or pre-emergence herbicides, fungicide treatments, wood structure treatments Suppression - Answer- does not eliminate all pests, but reduces them to a point below economic injury level Eradication - Answer- the total elimination from a pest in a given area Mode of Action - Answer- how the pesticide works i.e., affects nervous system, digestive system, etc. Selectivity - Answer- control only certain species of pests or affect only certain stage of pest development Non-selective - Answer- affect a range of species. i.e., fumigants harmful to many species. Systemic Pesticides - Answer- absorbed in plants through leaves and roots, though skin in animals, then are transported within the treated pest Contact Pesticides - Answer- remain on surface of treated pest and are not absorbed and only affect part of plant or pest that is exposed. Residual Pesticides - Answer- the persistence, or how long a pesticide remains in the environment, which varies among pesticides Integrated Pest Management - Answer- coordinated use of appropriate pest control tactics to reduce pests and their damage to an acceptable level Pest Control Failure - Answer- most often caused by incorrect pest identification and lack of information about pest Scouting and trapping - Answer- pest monitoring technique Thresholds - Answer- pest population levels at which you should take pest control action to prevent pests from causing unacceptable injury. Economic, health, and aesthetic considerations. Economic Injury Level - Answer- The pest population level at which the value of lost crop yield EQUALS the cost of controlling that pest population. Economic or Action Threshold - Answer- the pest population at which control measure are needed to prevent reaching the economic injury level management method or control strategy - Answer- should offer best combination of effectiveness and environmental safety Natural Control Measures - Answer- may stop or destroy pests without human interference. ex. weather, topography, natural enemies Applied controls - Answer- Pest control measures used by humans. These include biological, cultural, mechanical, and chemical control. Biological Control - Answer- the intentional release of a natural enemy to attack a pest population Biological Controls - Answer- Predators, parasites, pathogens Mechanical Controls - Answer- screens, machines, fences, traps that prevent pest activity Exclusion - Answer- screen barriers, sealing cracks and small openings Cultural Control - Answer- sometimes the lowest cost option, designed to alter the environment or the condition of the host plant or site to prevent or suppress an infection Physical/ Environmental Modifications - Answer- altering these aspects of an enclosed area, such as lowering humidity, regulating temperature, increasing air movement Natural Resistance - Answer- use of plants with this quality may prevent pest problems more effectively and for longer than applying pesticieds Genetic Resistance - Answer- when a plant or animal is bred to be resistant Types of Regulatory pest Control - Answer- Quarantine and eradication Chemical Controls (Pesticides) - Answer- usually effective, usually quick acting, cost less than other control options Chemical Controls (Pesticides) - Answer- may lose effectiveness over time, may harm non-target species, may drift offsite, often perceived as best solution when they aren't Pesticide Resistance - Answer- the ability of a n insect, fungus, weed, or rodent to tolerate a pesticide that previously controlled it; this happens from repeat use of a pesticide Resistance - Answer- must be detected when it is very low and controlled early To delay the occurrence of resistance - Answer- monitoring and treating only when necessary, rotating pesticides, applying less persistent pesticides, applying over limited areas, keeping good records Control Failure - Answer- occurs due to incorrect pest identification, dosage, or method, poor timing, and new infestation development after initial treatment