Building & Grounds Maintenance
Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation
Also called: Applicator, Chemical Applicator, Herbicide Applicator, IPM Technician (Integrated Pest Management Technician)
US median pay
$46,340
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+3.9%
about average or slower
Openings a year (US)
3,300
25,700 employed
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Preparation 2/5 · Some preparation
What this job is
Mix or apply pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or insecticides through sprays, dusts, vapors, soil incorporation, or chemical application on trees, shrubs, lawns, or crops. Usually requires specific training and state or federal certification.
What they do day to day
- Fill sprayer tanks with water and chemicals, according to formulas.
- Record information about pesticide applications, such as the type used and amount applied.
- Mix pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides for application to trees, shrubs, lawns, or botanical crops.
- Start motors and engage machinery, such as sprayer agitators or pumps or portable spray equipment.
- Lift, push, and swing nozzles, hoses, and tubes to direct spray over designated areas.
- Establish driving routes for pesticide applications.
- Clean or service machinery to ensure operating efficiency, using water, gasoline, lubricants, or hand tools.
- Connect hoses and nozzles selected according to terrain, distribution pattern requirements, types of infestations, and velocities.
- Cover areas to specified depths with pesticides, applying knowledge of weather conditions, droplet sizes, elevation-to-distance ratios, and obstructions.
- Identify lawn or plant diseases to determine the appropriate course of treatment.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Time Management3.0/5
- Operations Monitoring3.0/5
- Social Perceptiveness2.9/5
- Operation and Control2.9/5
- Judgment and Decision Making2.9/5
- Coordination2.8/5
- Complex Problem Solving2.6/5
- Service Orientation2.5/5
Knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service4.8/5
- English Language4.0/5
- Chemistry3.8/5
- Sales and Marketing3.8/5
- Biology3.6/5
- Production and Processing3.6/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 2 of 5 — Some preparation. Usually a high school diploma; some previous work experience or training helps.
Typical entry education (BLS): High school diploma or equivalent.
Who this job suits
Mostly Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.