Maybe you’ve already asked this yourself, what is a pest control technician? It’s very likely that you’ve already encountered one or have heard someone mention this to you; maybe that is why you are here to know what kind of job this is.
If you are curious to know about them, then continue reading. In this article, you’ll learn who they are, their responsibilities, and the skills required in this kind of profession.
Pest Control Technician
A pest control technician is someone who eliminates unwanted pests such as ants, bugs, cockroaches, insects, rats, rodents, and many more that may have infested houses, yards, or buildings.
One of their responsibilities was identifying the kind of pests and designing effective procedures to eradicate these threats. They may employ different methods based on what is needed to exterminate pests, such as arranging traps, using chemicals, or both.
Not only do they eradicate pests, but they also have to consider the safety of their clients and their belongings. They can eradicate pests in various places, such as residential houses, firms, hospitals, farms, and many more areas that can get infested.
They must be well-trained and knowledgeable about pests, pesticides, pest controls, treatments, preventions, and so on. They would be able to make plans to treat problems effectively and safely.
This kind of career can be very challenging. Schedules would be tight during the busy season, while expecting that you’ll be paid less since fewer job opportunities would be in the slow season.
Helping protect firms and households can be a very satisfying occupation, more so when pursuing continuous learning since conferences are often provided with new resources and knowledge.
This job would require you to visit the location of the infestation. One should also expect the possibility of working at night and on weekends.
The average wage for this occupation is around $38,000 per year.
You may visit this page on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to know more about the occupational outlook of pest control workers.
What are their responsibilities?
Pest control technicians often carry out various processes for ensuring an environment is free of pests. These processes can vary from client to client since not all encounter the same problems.
If you want to be familiar with the typical duties of a pest control technician, then here are some of their responsibilities:
- Assessing the environment for indications of pests or infestations.
- Measuring the areas that require treatment.
- Knowing the kind of treatment needed for different types of pests.
- Choosing the best type of plan for eliminating problems.
- Cost estimation from the assessment to the final treatment.
- Familiarization of pest control methods, like traps or baits.
- Safe and effective application of chemicals.
- Knowing how to adjust product or chemical portions according to how much is needed for an area’s size.
- Proper designing of pest control plans that are feasible.
- Use effective pest control measures to deter future infestation and prevent pests from escaping.
- Recognizing chances to sell supplemental services and products.
Skills Requirement For Pest Control Technicians
Before anything else, know that you’ll need a high school diploma or equivalent and pest control licenses/certifications for this job. For the certification programs, you would pay around $100 to $400, and it’ll take you three months to complete.
You might also be required to have a valid driver’s license.
As for the practical skills that you would need, being familiar with this and knowing you acquire some of this may increase your chances to catch this kind of job, so here are some of them:
- Willingness to work in all weather conditions.
- Good problem-solving skills.
- Eloquent communication and interpersonal skills.
- Possessing practical customer assistance skills.
- Pest control expertise, prior training for the position, knowledge about different kinds of pests.
- Able to withstand harsh circumstances in uncomfortable places.
- Detail-oriented and analytical skills.
- Ability to perform with a team.
- Willingness to learn and be supervised.
You can visit this article about pest control technician job description for further information.
Steps To Become A Licensed Pest Control Technician
Be guided by this simple instruction to become a pest control technician:
Step #1. A high school diploma or an equivalent would be required, so get yours ready.
Step #2. The next step is to get licensed, so enroll yourself in a training program. You can receive training from community colleges, technical centers, university extension programs, and pest control training centers.
Some of the things you would learn are rodent control, termite control, some standard pest control methods, and usage of pesticides.
Step #3. Get on-the-job training to gather experiences. Surely you’ll be an apprentice first, and under someone’s supervision, you’ll also learn more practical skills which would enrich your knowledge and experiences.
Step #4. Become certified by taking the licensing certification test.
For some supplementary pieces of information, you can visit either this article on how long does it take bed bugs to die after extermination or what chemicals do exterminators use for bed bugs.
Conclusion
The pest control industry has excellent potential since there will always be a need for these professionals. If you want to join this growing industry, you should first know what is a pest control technician, their responsibilities, and the job requirement to become one.
Hopefully, this piece was able to aid you in understanding and learning about pest control technicians.