Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation
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.
Also called: Chemical Applicator · Integrated Pest Management Technician (IPM Technician) · Lawn Specialist · Lawn Technician · Licensed Pesticide Applicator · Pest Control Technician
Median pay (national)
$45,200
$34,590–$58,910 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
25,200
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+3.8%
~4,100 openings/yr
Typical entry
High school diploma or equivalent
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for pesticide handlers, sprayers, and applicators, vegetation shows a relatively narrow range: the top 10% earn $58,910 versus $34,590 at the bottom 10% — 1.7x. The median of $45,200 leaves roughly 30% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +3.8% from 2024 to 2034 — about as fast as the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 4,100 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 49 states with released data, Massachusetts pays the most for this role (median $59,550, +32% vs the national median), while Puerto Rico sits lowest at $23,290 — a 156% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Learning
- Monitoring
- Writing
- Mathematics
- Learning Strategies
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Mix pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides for application to trees, shrubs, lawns, or botanical crops.
- Connect hoses and nozzles selected according to terrain, distribution pattern requirements, types of infestations, and velocities.
- Clean or service machinery to ensure operating efficiency, using water, gasoline, lubricants, or hand tools.
- Fill sprayer tanks with water and chemicals, according to formulas.
- Lift, push, and swing nozzles, hoses, and tubes to direct spray over designated areas.
- Cover areas to specified depths with pesticides, applying knowledge of weather conditions, droplet sizes, elevation-to-distance ratios, and obstructions.
- Start motors and engage machinery, such as sprayer agitators or pumps or portable spray equipment.
- Identify lawn or plant diseases to determine the appropriate course of treatment.
- Provide driving instructions to truck drivers to ensure complete coverage of designated areas, using hand and horn signals.
- Plant grass with seed spreaders, and operate straw blowers to cover seeded areas with mixtures of asphalt and straw.
Tools & technology
- Google Android
- Customer database software
- Geographic information system GIS systems
- Materials inventory software
- Rate calculation software
- Unit conversion software
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service
- Biology
- Production and Processing
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Public Safety and Security
- Education and Training
- Mathematics