• Topics: Pesticide Information Office | Fishel, Frederick M | Pesticide Certification and Licensing

Licensing of Private Pesticide Applicators in Florida¹

This document explains the licensing and regulation of private persons who apply restricted use pesticides to agricultural commodities in Florida, as regulated by the Florida Pesticide Law (Chapter 487), and administered by the Florida Department of Consumer Services.

Private Applicator Agricultural Pest Control

All private persons who apply or supervise the application of restricted use pesticides to agricultural commodities must have a pesticide applicator license issued by the Bureau of Compliance Monitoring/Pesticide Certification Section. The Private Applicator category is regulated by the Florida Pesticide Law (Florida Statutes, Chapter 487).

Category Certification Standards

Applicators seeking a license in this category must demonstrate practical knowledge of:

• agricultural plant and animal production and associated pests;

• the chemical control measures that pertain to the prevention or control of such pests;

• the equipment or methodologies used to safely and effectively implement such measures;

• the potential for pesticide residues on such crops;

• preharvest application intervals;

• post-application re-entry interval restrictions;

• phytotoxicity;

• pesticide-related soil or water problems;

• potential for pesticide-induced environmental contamination;

• non-target injury and community problems that may result from the improper use of pesticides in agricultural production;

• animal injury associated with pesticide formulations, application techniques, animal age or stress, or extent of treatment;

• equipment calibration;

• proper design, use, and maintenance of anti-siphon devices and check valves to prevent contamination of water supplies;

• proper interpretation of pesticide label or labeling requirements for products registered for chemigation and appropriate use of personal protective equipment associated with this type of application;

• soil-inhabiting pests and pests of stored raw agricultural commodities and the fumigant pesticides that may be used to control such pests;

• the basics of fumigant pesticide toxicology;

• application methodologies for applying soil and commodity fumigants;

• techniques and procedures for monitoring the concentration of a fumigant pesticide in soil, storage facilities, air, or water;

• use and maintenance of personal protective equipment and clothing; and

• specific safety procedures for handling pressurized chemicals and for avoiding non-target exposure to a fumigant pesticide.

License Cost

Certified private applicators pay a fee of $100 for a four-year license.

Examinations

Persons must successfully complete two examinations before they can apply to the Department for a license. These examinations are a Core examination and the Private Applicator Agriculture category examination. The Core examination may be taken at any University of Florida IFAS County Extension Office. The Private Applicator Agriculture category examination may be taken at a University of Florida IFAS County Extension Office that offers category examinations. No special qualifications must be met to take the examination. There is no fee to take the examinations.

Study Materials

Manuals and study materials for Core and Private Applicator Agriculture applicators who will be taking exams may be obtained from the UF/IFAS Extension Bookstore by calling 1-800-226-1764 or on-line at http://ifasbooks.ifas.ufl.edu/. The content of the Core exam is based upon the manual, Applying Pesticides Correctly (Figure 1). The content of the Private Applicator Agriculture exam is based upon the manual, Private Applicator Agricultural Pest Control (Figure 2). Sample labels may be obtained from suppliers of pesticide products or on-line at Crop Data Management Systems by going to http://www.cdms.net/manuf/manuf.asp.

Figure 1. 

SM1: Applying Pesticides Correctly

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Figure 2. 

SM 53: Private Applicator Agricultural Pest Control (CORE).

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Recertification

Applicators must recertify every four years. To recertify, applicators may take the examinations again or attend training and obtain 4 continuing education units (CEUs) approved for the Private Applicator Agriculture category and 4 CEUs approved for the Core category. Core CEUs can't be used to meet the required Private Applicator Agriculture CEUs. No substitutions of other types of CEUs are allowed. Opportunities to earn CEUs may be found at http://www.flaes.org/.

Restricted Use Pesticides Applied in the Private Category

Table 1 lists Florida's restricted use pesticides that are applied in the Private Applicator Agriculture category and the reason for the restricted classification. A complete listing of all restricted use pesticides in Florida may be viewed at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PI073.

Additional Information

Fishel, F.M. 2005. Restricted use pesticides. UF/IFAS EDIS Fact Sheet PI-36, http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PI073 .

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Bureau of Compliance Monitoring, Pesticide Licensing Section, 3125 Conner Drive, Bldg. 8, L-29, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1650, Phone: 850-488-3314, http://www.flaes.org/complimonitoring/index.html (accessed July 22, 2010).

University of Florida/IFAS Pesticide Information Office, P.O. Box 110710, Bldg. 164, Gainesville, FL 32611-0710, Phone: 352-392-4721, http://pested.ifas.ufl.edu/. (accessed July 22, 2010).

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, Dean.

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