Iowa State University Extension

Test Preparation for Commercial Pesticide Applicators in East-central and Southeast Iowa

Welcome!

Iowa State University has prepared two avenues by which you can prepare to take the tests to become a Commercial Pesticide Applicator. All commercial applicators must pass the Core Test and then a test in each category for which they wish to be certified. ("Commercial applicator" means a person, corporation, or employee of a person or corporation who enters into a contract or an agreement for the sake of monetary payment and agrees to perform a service by applying a pesticide but does not include a farmer trading work with another, a person employed by a farmer not solely as a pesticide applicator who applies pesticide as an incidental part of the person's general duties, or a person who applies pesticide as an incidental part of a custom farming operation. Iowa Code, Chapter 206.2)

The first avenue is a series of study guides, which are available at each Iowa State University Extension office. IC-445 "Iowa Core Manual" (1999) costs $20.00. The Certified Handlers Test is also based on this book. The category manuals and their prices are listed below. You may also order them directly using the order form (Adobe Acrobat Reader Adobe Acrobat Reader Logo is required.) . Some are available online at no cost. 

Categ.	Book No.Book Title (date) (price)

Core	IC-445	Iowa Core Manual (1999)  ($20.00)
1A	CS-9	Agricultural Weed Control (2007) ($20.00)
1B	CS-10	Agricultural Insect Control (1995) ($16.00)
1C	CS-11	Agricultural Disease Control (2008) ($20.00)
1D	CS-12	Fruit and Vegetable Pest Control (2006) ($20.00)
1E	CS-13	Animal Pest Control (1998) ($5.00)
2	CS-14	Forest Pest Control (1999) ($5.00)
3	CS-15	Ornamental, Turf, & Greenhouse Pest Mgt. (2003) ($5.00)
4	CS-16	Seed Treatment (2006) ($5.00)
5	CS-17	Aquatic Pest Control (1999) ($5.00)
6	CS-18	Right-of-Way Pest Control (2000) ($5.00)
7A	CS-19	General and Household Pest Control (2001) ($5.00)
7B	CS-20	Termite Pest Control (2000) ($5.00)
7C	CS-27	Fumigation (1998) ($5.00)
7D	CS-22	Community Insect Control (1999) ($5.00)
7E	CS-28	Wood Preservatives (1986) ($5.00)
7F	CS-29	Antifouling Paints (1992) ($5.00)
8	CS-23	Public Health Pest Control (2006) ($15.00)
9	CS-24	Regulatory Pest Control (1997) ($5.00)
10*	CS-25	Demonstration and Research (1997) ($5.00)
11**	CS-26	Aerial Application (1995) ($5.00)
* To become certified in Category 10, you must also become certified in the categories that cover the types of commercial application work you do. For instance, researchers must also take the 1A exam if the work they do involves agricultural herbicides.

** To become certified in Category 11, you take only one test which includes information from:

If you aerially apply pesticides to other than agricultural crops, you must become certified in both the appropriate category and category 11.

The second avenue by which you can prepare for the test is by attending live training presented by Iowa State University staff, for a $20 fee. These trainings go hand-in-hand with the manuals, which will be available at the trainings. Generally, training is offered for the Core Test and Categories 1A, 1B, 1C, 3, 4, and 6; others may be offered if requested in advance.

The trainings in East-central and Southeast Iowa will all begin at 9:00 a.m and will be: 


Date	    County     City        Location          Phone
All training for 2009 has been completed.  Opportunities for the winter of 2009 - 2010

will be posted in early November 2009.
Testing dates and locations are scattered around the state throughout the year.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Iowa State University Extension Office.

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Last Update: March 12, 2009
Contact: Virgil Schmitt vschmitt@iastate.edu


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