Tennessee Ornamental and Turfgrass
Pest Control Category 3 Exam Prep 400
Practice Questions and Correct Answers
/ TN Cat 3 Exam Prep 2025–2026 /
Tennessee Category 3 Commercial
Tennessee Category 3 Exam Prep: 100 Practice Questions & Answers
Section 1: Pest Identification & Biology (Questions 1-25)
1. Which insect pest creates silken tents at the branch crotches of trees like cherries and
plums in the spring?
A. Fall webworm
B. Eastern tent caterpillar
C. Bagworm
D. Japanese beetle
2. What is the primary host plant for the adult Japanese beetle?
A. Pine trees
B. Roses, lindens, and other ornamentals
C. Fescue turfgrass
D. Oak trees
3. Which of these is a piercing-sucking insect that feeds on plant sap and excretes sticky
honeydew?
A. White grub
B. Aphid
C. Cutworm
D. Mole cricket
4. The "froghopper" is the adult stage of which common turfgrass pest?
A. Billbug
,B. Spittlebug
C. Chinch bug
D. Green June beetle
5. Which fungal disease appears as a white, powdery coating on the leaves of lilacs,
dogwoods, and roses?
A. Leaf spot
B. Powdery mildew
C. Rust
D. Botrytis blight
6. Large, irregular brown patches in turfgrass that develop a smoke-ring border are
characteristic of:
A. Brown patch (Rhizoctonia solani)
B. Dollar spot
C. Summer patch
D. Pythium blight
7. Which weed is a perennial, spreading by both rhizomes and seed, with a distinctive seed
head that looks like a "foxtail"?
A. Crabgrass
B. Dandelion
C. Nutsedge
D. Bermudagrass
8. What is the life stage of a white grub that is most susceptible to control with insecticides?
A. Adult beetle
B. Pupa
C. First or second instar larva
D. Egg
9. Which mite is a common pest of conifers like spruce, causing bronzing and needle drop?
A. Clover mite
B. Two-spotted spider mite
C. Spruce spider mite
D. Rust mite
10. The presence of "frass" (sawdust-like excrement) around holes in a tree trunk indicates an
infestation of:
A. Scale insects
,B. Borers
C. Leaf miners
D. Adelgids
11. True or False: Nutsedge can be effectively controlled with standard broadleaf herbicides
like 2,4-D.
A. True
B. False
12. Which disease causes reddish-orange pustules on the underside of leaves of plants like
hollyhock and rose?
A. Powdery mildew
B. Sooty mold
C. Rust
D. Anthracnose
13. Moss in a lawn is primarily an indicator of:
A. High soil pH
B. Low soil fertility, compaction, and shade
C. Over-fertilization
D. Excessive sunlight
14. What pest creates small, brown, spindle-shaped bags hanging from arborvitae and juniper
branches?
A. Eastern tent caterpillar
B. Gypsy moth
C. Bagworm
D. Webworm
15. Which insect is a major pest of turfgrass roots in the spring and fall in Tennessee?
A. Cicada
B. White grub (e.g., Japanese beetle, June beetle larvae)
C. Leafhopper
D. Thrips
16. The "two-lined chestnut borer" is a type of:
A. Caterpillar
B. Beetle
C. Moth
D. Weevil
, 17. What is the key identifying feature of a yellow nutsedge plant?
A. Triangular (sedges have edges) stem
B. Hairy ligule
C. Blue-green color
D. Opposite leaves
18. Which of the following is a contact herbicide?
A. Glyphosate
B. Dicamba
C. Glufosinate
D. Imidacloprid
19. Fire blight, a bacterial disease, commonly affects which type of ornamental plant?
A. Oaks
B. Pines
C. Roses
D. Ornamental pears and crabapples
20. Annual bluegrass (Poa annua) is most problematic in turf because it:
A. Has deep roots
B. Dies in hot summer weather, leaving bare spots
C. Is highly drought tolerant
D. Repels insects
21. The "velvety black coating" on leaves is caused by:
A. Sooty mold fungus growing on honeydew
B. A type of algae
C. Soot from pollution
D. Black spot fungus
22. Which statement about moles is TRUE?
A. They feed directly on grass roots.
B. They are insectivores, feeding on soil insects like grubs.
C. They can be effectively repelled by ultrasonic devices.
D. They are rodents.
23. What cultural practice is most effective in reducing the severity of Pythium blight in turf?
A. Raising mowing height
B. Improving drainage and reducing nighttime irrigation
Pest Control Category 3 Exam Prep 400
Practice Questions and Correct Answers
/ TN Cat 3 Exam Prep 2025–2026 /
Tennessee Category 3 Commercial
Tennessee Category 3 Exam Prep: 100 Practice Questions & Answers
Section 1: Pest Identification & Biology (Questions 1-25)
1. Which insect pest creates silken tents at the branch crotches of trees like cherries and
plums in the spring?
A. Fall webworm
B. Eastern tent caterpillar
C. Bagworm
D. Japanese beetle
2. What is the primary host plant for the adult Japanese beetle?
A. Pine trees
B. Roses, lindens, and other ornamentals
C. Fescue turfgrass
D. Oak trees
3. Which of these is a piercing-sucking insect that feeds on plant sap and excretes sticky
honeydew?
A. White grub
B. Aphid
C. Cutworm
D. Mole cricket
4. The "froghopper" is the adult stage of which common turfgrass pest?
A. Billbug
,B. Spittlebug
C. Chinch bug
D. Green June beetle
5. Which fungal disease appears as a white, powdery coating on the leaves of lilacs,
dogwoods, and roses?
A. Leaf spot
B. Powdery mildew
C. Rust
D. Botrytis blight
6. Large, irregular brown patches in turfgrass that develop a smoke-ring border are
characteristic of:
A. Brown patch (Rhizoctonia solani)
B. Dollar spot
C. Summer patch
D. Pythium blight
7. Which weed is a perennial, spreading by both rhizomes and seed, with a distinctive seed
head that looks like a "foxtail"?
A. Crabgrass
B. Dandelion
C. Nutsedge
D. Bermudagrass
8. What is the life stage of a white grub that is most susceptible to control with insecticides?
A. Adult beetle
B. Pupa
C. First or second instar larva
D. Egg
9. Which mite is a common pest of conifers like spruce, causing bronzing and needle drop?
A. Clover mite
B. Two-spotted spider mite
C. Spruce spider mite
D. Rust mite
10. The presence of "frass" (sawdust-like excrement) around holes in a tree trunk indicates an
infestation of:
A. Scale insects
,B. Borers
C. Leaf miners
D. Adelgids
11. True or False: Nutsedge can be effectively controlled with standard broadleaf herbicides
like 2,4-D.
A. True
B. False
12. Which disease causes reddish-orange pustules on the underside of leaves of plants like
hollyhock and rose?
A. Powdery mildew
B. Sooty mold
C. Rust
D. Anthracnose
13. Moss in a lawn is primarily an indicator of:
A. High soil pH
B. Low soil fertility, compaction, and shade
C. Over-fertilization
D. Excessive sunlight
14. What pest creates small, brown, spindle-shaped bags hanging from arborvitae and juniper
branches?
A. Eastern tent caterpillar
B. Gypsy moth
C. Bagworm
D. Webworm
15. Which insect is a major pest of turfgrass roots in the spring and fall in Tennessee?
A. Cicada
B. White grub (e.g., Japanese beetle, June beetle larvae)
C. Leafhopper
D. Thrips
16. The "two-lined chestnut borer" is a type of:
A. Caterpillar
B. Beetle
C. Moth
D. Weevil
, 17. What is the key identifying feature of a yellow nutsedge plant?
A. Triangular (sedges have edges) stem
B. Hairy ligule
C. Blue-green color
D. Opposite leaves
18. Which of the following is a contact herbicide?
A. Glyphosate
B. Dicamba
C. Glufosinate
D. Imidacloprid
19. Fire blight, a bacterial disease, commonly affects which type of ornamental plant?
A. Oaks
B. Pines
C. Roses
D. Ornamental pears and crabapples
20. Annual bluegrass (Poa annua) is most problematic in turf because it:
A. Has deep roots
B. Dies in hot summer weather, leaving bare spots
C. Is highly drought tolerant
D. Repels insects
21. The "velvety black coating" on leaves is caused by:
A. Sooty mold fungus growing on honeydew
B. A type of algae
C. Soot from pollution
D. Black spot fungus
22. Which statement about moles is TRUE?
A. They feed directly on grass roots.
B. They are insectivores, feeding on soil insects like grubs.
C. They can be effectively repelled by ultrasonic devices.
D. They are rodents.
23. What cultural practice is most effective in reducing the severity of Pythium blight in turf?
A. Raising mowing height
B. Improving drainage and reducing nighttime irrigation
