PESTICIDE APPLICATOR 2026 TEST PAPER 1 QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS GRADED A+
✔✔what are beneficial insects? and why are they important to agriculture? - ✔✔insects
that are pollinators (bees and butterflies) or pest predators (ladybeetles and lacewings).
with out pollinators many types of plants could not reproduce and beneficial predators
feed on harmful insects, mites, and weeds.
✔✔how do mites harm plants? - ✔✔They suck the plant juices, eat the underside of
leaves, and disfigure the plants they feed on.
✔✔what is an economic threshold? - ✔✔the level at which economic losses caused by
pest damage, if the pest population continued to grow, would be greater than the cost of
controlling the pests. reaching an economic threshold usually prompts some kind of
pest control action.
✔✔how are thresholds important to a sound pest control strategy? - ✔✔setting a
treatment or action threshold is essential to prevent the pests in an area from causing
unacceptable injury or harm. action thresholds vary: sometimes one pest is too many
(like a rat in a food processing facility). Thresholds help producers and applicators
weigh the cost of pest control against the cost of a pest infestation
✔✔what is monitoring and how is it important to a sound pest control strategy? -
✔✔regular checking or scouting for pests in a designated area. Monitoring will tell you
what pests are in an area, how many are in the area, and how much damage they are
causing. it will help determine if the pest population has reached the treatment threshold
and whether control measures have worked.
✔✔what is the difference between prevention, suppression and eradication of a pest? -
✔✔prevention means reducing the chances that a pest will become a problem.
suppression means reducing pest numbers or damage to an acceptable level.
Eradication means destroying an entire pest population.
✔✔how could you prevent a pest infestation? - ✔✔plant weed- and disease- free seed,
choose plants resistant to diseases and insects, and practice good sanitation. other
preventative techniques include excluding pests from the target area and using pre-
emergent herbicides to kill weed seeds.
✔✔briefly define IPM - ✔✔Integrated Pest Management is an ecological approach to
pest control. it is based on the habitat and life-cycle of the pest. IPM combines chemical
and nonchemical methods into a single plan or strategy. the goal of an IPM program is
to reduce pest populations to an acceptable level in a way that is practical, cost-
effective, and safe for the environment as well as human health.
, ✔✔Give several reasons to use IPM rather than using only a pesticide. - ✔✔IPM
programs:
1. often ensure better success at the treatment site
2. promote a more balanced ecosystem and are more environmentally friendly
3. are less likely to lead to pesticide resistance and secondary pest outbreaks
4. may reduce pesticide use and can help protect beneficial insects
5. are often more acceptable to the public.
✔✔name at least 5 basic steps in an effective IPM program - ✔✔1. idnetify pest
2. monitor the pest
3. decide whether control is justified
4. determine a pest control goal
5. know what control tactics are available
6. evaluate the benefits and risks of each tactic
7. choose the most effective strategies that will cause the least harm to people and
environment
8. use each tactic correctly
9. observe all applicable local, state, and federal regulations.
10. record and evaluate results
✔✔name 5 IPM elements - ✔✔host resistance
biological control
cultural control
mechanical and physical control
and chemical control
✔✔what is host resistance? - ✔✔the ability of a plant to withstand pests
✔✔what is biological control? - ✔✔the use of living organisms to control pests. these
may be natural enemies or biologically altering the pest (releasing sterile males into
pest population)
✔✔what is cultural control? - ✔✔changing the habitat where the pest flourishes. ex.
cultural practices and sanitation
✔✔name at least 6 cultural practices used to manage pests - ✔✔pruning, thinning and
fertilization
rotating crops
tillage
mulching
varying time of planting or harvest
trap crops
adjusting row width
AND ANSWERS GRADED A+
✔✔what are beneficial insects? and why are they important to agriculture? - ✔✔insects
that are pollinators (bees and butterflies) or pest predators (ladybeetles and lacewings).
with out pollinators many types of plants could not reproduce and beneficial predators
feed on harmful insects, mites, and weeds.
✔✔how do mites harm plants? - ✔✔They suck the plant juices, eat the underside of
leaves, and disfigure the plants they feed on.
✔✔what is an economic threshold? - ✔✔the level at which economic losses caused by
pest damage, if the pest population continued to grow, would be greater than the cost of
controlling the pests. reaching an economic threshold usually prompts some kind of
pest control action.
✔✔how are thresholds important to a sound pest control strategy? - ✔✔setting a
treatment or action threshold is essential to prevent the pests in an area from causing
unacceptable injury or harm. action thresholds vary: sometimes one pest is too many
(like a rat in a food processing facility). Thresholds help producers and applicators
weigh the cost of pest control against the cost of a pest infestation
✔✔what is monitoring and how is it important to a sound pest control strategy? -
✔✔regular checking or scouting for pests in a designated area. Monitoring will tell you
what pests are in an area, how many are in the area, and how much damage they are
causing. it will help determine if the pest population has reached the treatment threshold
and whether control measures have worked.
✔✔what is the difference between prevention, suppression and eradication of a pest? -
✔✔prevention means reducing the chances that a pest will become a problem.
suppression means reducing pest numbers or damage to an acceptable level.
Eradication means destroying an entire pest population.
✔✔how could you prevent a pest infestation? - ✔✔plant weed- and disease- free seed,
choose plants resistant to diseases and insects, and practice good sanitation. other
preventative techniques include excluding pests from the target area and using pre-
emergent herbicides to kill weed seeds.
✔✔briefly define IPM - ✔✔Integrated Pest Management is an ecological approach to
pest control. it is based on the habitat and life-cycle of the pest. IPM combines chemical
and nonchemical methods into a single plan or strategy. the goal of an IPM program is
to reduce pest populations to an acceptable level in a way that is practical, cost-
effective, and safe for the environment as well as human health.
, ✔✔Give several reasons to use IPM rather than using only a pesticide. - ✔✔IPM
programs:
1. often ensure better success at the treatment site
2. promote a more balanced ecosystem and are more environmentally friendly
3. are less likely to lead to pesticide resistance and secondary pest outbreaks
4. may reduce pesticide use and can help protect beneficial insects
5. are often more acceptable to the public.
✔✔name at least 5 basic steps in an effective IPM program - ✔✔1. idnetify pest
2. monitor the pest
3. decide whether control is justified
4. determine a pest control goal
5. know what control tactics are available
6. evaluate the benefits and risks of each tactic
7. choose the most effective strategies that will cause the least harm to people and
environment
8. use each tactic correctly
9. observe all applicable local, state, and federal regulations.
10. record and evaluate results
✔✔name 5 IPM elements - ✔✔host resistance
biological control
cultural control
mechanical and physical control
and chemical control
✔✔what is host resistance? - ✔✔the ability of a plant to withstand pests
✔✔what is biological control? - ✔✔the use of living organisms to control pests. these
may be natural enemies or biologically altering the pest (releasing sterile males into
pest population)
✔✔what is cultural control? - ✔✔changing the habitat where the pest flourishes. ex.
cultural practices and sanitation
✔✔name at least 6 cultural practices used to manage pests - ✔✔pruning, thinning and
fertilization
rotating crops
tillage
mulching
varying time of planting or harvest
trap crops
adjusting row width
