Pest Control Workers
Apply or release chemical solutions or toxic gases and set traps to kill or remove pests and vermin that infest buildings and surrounding areas.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Time Management
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- Chemistry
- Mathematics
- Biology
- Law and Government
- Public Safety and Security
- English Language
- Sales and Marketing
What the work involves
- Record work activities performed.
- Inspect premises to identify infestation source and extent of damage to property, wall, or roof porosity and access to infested locations.
- Spray or dust chemical solutions, powders, or gases into rooms, onto clothing, furnishings, or wood, or over marshlands, ditches, or catch basins.
- Clean work site after completion of job.
- Direct, or assist other workers in, treatment or extermination processes to eliminate or control rodents, insects, or weeds.
- Drive truck equipped with power spraying equipment.
- Study preliminary reports or diagrams of infested area and determine treatment type required to eliminate and prevent recurrence of infestation.
- Recommend treatment and prevention methods for pest problems to clients.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (85.3% of expert ratings)
- Related experience
- None (68.7%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (49.8%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Pest Control Workers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Lower on contact with others than 51% of occupations compared | 55% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | High | Higher on dealing with the public than 73% of occupations compared | 44% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 95% of occupations compared | 32% of surveyed respondents chose “Important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | High | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 79% of occupations compared | 52% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 72% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Lower on conflict situations than 58% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 56% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 63% of occupations compared | 32% of surveyed respondents chose “Serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 2.01%
- Contact with others about half the time: 12.74%
- Contact with others most of the time: 30.55%
- Constant contact with others: 54.7%
n = 43, Incumbent 07/2015
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 0.19%
- Fairly important: 7.72%
- Important: 28.1%
- Very important: 19.69%
- Extremely important: 44.3%
n = 43, Incumbent 07/2015
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 7.21%
- Fairly important: 28.14%
- Important: 31.68%
- Very important: 6.04%
- Extremely important: 26.92%
n = 43, Incumbent 07/2015
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 0.22%
- Some freedom: 51.87%
- A lot of freedom: 47.91%
n = 43, Incumbent 07/2015
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 4.79%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 19.11%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 33.27%
- Every day: 42.83%
n = 42, Incumbent 07/2015
Conflict situations
- Never: 7.09%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 38.7%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 31.21%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 21.37%
- Every day: 1.63%
n = 43, Incumbent 07/2015
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 8.63%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 35.61%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 24.77%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 20.44%
- Every day: 10.55%
n = 43, Incumbent 07/2015
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 6.45%
- Fairly serious: 20.96%
- Serious: 31.96%
- Very serious: 20.8%
- Extremely serious: 19.84%
n = 43, Incumbent 07/2015
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O*NET-SOC 37-2021.00 · SOC 37-2021 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8