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.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Time Management
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Operation and Control
- Judgment and Decision Making
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Chemistry
- Sales and Marketing
- Biology
- Production and Processing
- Education and Training
- Administration and Management
What the work involves
- Fill sprayer tanks with water and chemicals, according to formulas.
- Mix pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides for application to trees, shrubs, lawns, or botanical crops.
- Cover areas to specified depths with pesticides, applying knowledge of weather conditions, droplet sizes, elevation-to-distance ratios, and obstructions.
- Lift, push, and swing nozzles, hoses, and tubes to direct spray over designated areas.
- Start motors and engage machinery, such as sprayer agitators or pumps or portable spray equipment.
- 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.
- Record information about pesticide applications, such as the type used and amount applied.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (82.6% of expert ratings)
- Related experience
- None (43%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months (39.5%)
- 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 Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation 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 | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 88% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Moderate | Higher on dealing with the public than 56% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Important” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 96% of occupations compared | — |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 86% of occupations compared | 72% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 93% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 69% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 53% of occupations compared | — |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Lower on consequence of error than 55% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Very serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: moderate
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: 28.95%
- Contact with others about half the time: 14.77%
- Contact with others most of the time: 13.97%
- Constant contact with others: 42.31%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 0.95%
- Fairly important: 12.97%
- Important: 40.73%
- Very important: 16.57%
- Extremely important: 28.78%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 25.96%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very important: 25.96%
- Extremely important: 17.33%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Some freedom: 14.79%
- A lot of freedom: 72.24%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 41.94%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 14.85%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 41.28%
- Every day: 1.93%
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: 29.82%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 5.32%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 47.23%
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: 1.6%
n = 14, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 1.8%
- Once a year or more but not every month: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a month or more but not every week: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a week or more but not every day: 1.21%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 15, Incumbent 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 14.92%
- Fairly serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Serious: 2.07%
- Very serious: 48.62%
- Extremely serious: 1.09%
n = 14, Incumbent 08/2026
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O*NET-SOC 37-3012.00 · SOC 37-3012 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8