Laws, Labeling + Supervision
Not publishedof exam
Safety, PPE + First Aid
Not publishedof exam
Pests + IPM
Not publishedof exam
Pesticides + Formulations
Not publishedof exam
Equipment + Application Methods
Not publishedof exam
Environment + Stewardship
Not publishedof exam
Quick Facts
- Exam
- Private applicator core
- Federal rule
- 40 CFR Part 171
- Administered by
- State lead agency
- Item count
- Not published federally
- Pass mark
- Set by state
- Minimum age
- 18 years old
- Certification
- 5 years maximum
- Recertify
- Exam or approved CEUs
- Core standards
- 40 CFR 171.105
Label Is Law
Rate, site, timing, PPE, REI, PHI
Never exceed labeled rateSite must be listedLower rate is legalExtra PPE is legal
Private vs Commercial
Private
- Own or rented land
- Producing agricultural commodity
- Never for hire
Commercial
- Any other certified use
- Applies for hire
- More categories and exams
Own crop vs for hire
FIFRA Basics
- FIFRA
- Federal pesticide law
- EPA role
- Registers products, sets standards
- State role
- Certifies applicators, enforces
- Registration
- Product approved for listed uses
- General use
- No certification needed
- Restricted use
- Certified applicator onlyRUP
- Direct supervision
- Noncertified applies, certified responsible
- Misuse
- Use inconsistent with labeling
- Section 24(c)
- Special local need label
- Section 18
- Emergency exemption use
- Section 2(ee)
- Permitted label deviations
- Certification term
- 5 years maximum
- Recertification
- Exam or approved CEUs
- Tolerance
- Legal food residue limit
- Stricter state rule
- Always wins over federal
General vs Restricted Use
General use
- No certification needed
- Lower risk profile
Restricted use
- Certified applicator only
- RUP box on label
- Supervision allowed
Anyone vs certified only
Label Sections
- RUP box
- Top of front panel
- Brand name
- Marketing name, not chemical
- Ingredient statement
- Active percent, other percent
- Net contents
- Amount in container
- EPA Reg. No.
- Identifies the product
- EPA Est. No.
- Identifies producing facility
- Signal word
- Acute toxicity of concentrate
- Child hazard warning
- Keep out of reach
- First aid
- Immediate treatment steps
- Precautionary statements
- Human, environmental, physical hazards
- PPE statement
- Minimum legal protective equipment
- Ag Use Requirements box
- WPS applies to product
- Directions for use
- Sites, rates, timing, restrictions
- Storage and disposal
- Storage rules, container handling
- Misuse statement
- Inconsistent use is illegal
Label vs Labeling
Label
- Printed on container
- Attached booklet
Labeling
- Label plus supplements
- 24(c) and 18 directions
- Referenced manuals
Container vs everything supplied
Label Latitude Rules
- Lower rate
- Legal
- Higher rate
- Never legal
- Unlisted pest
- Legal if site listed
- Unlisted site
- Never legal
- Tank mixing
- Legal unless label prohibits
- Different method
- Legal unless label prohibits
- Extra PPE
- Always legal
- Mandatory wording
- Do not, must, wear
- Advisory wording
- Should, recommend: guidance only
- Read the label
- Buying, mixing, applying, storing
Records + Supervision
- Federal private RUP records
- Rescinded July 11, 2025
- 7 CFR 110
- Removed by USDA rule
- Now governing
- State recordkeeping law
- Common state rule
- Record 14 days, keep 2 years
- WPS record retention
- 2 years after REI
- WPS display deadline
- Within 24 hours
- Supervisor duty
- Instructions, label access, availability
- Supervised applicator age
- 18, family exception 16
- Family 16 exception
- No fumigants, no aerial
- Certification is jurisdictional
- Certify in each state
Signal Word Ladder
DANGER-POISON, DANGER, WARNING, CAUTION
DANGER-POISON: Category IDANGER: eye or skinWARNING: Category IICAUTION: Category III
REI vs PHI
REI
- Controls worker entry
- Hours after application
- Longest in tank mix
PHI
- Controls harvest timing
- Days before harvest
- Protects residue tolerance
Entry vs harvest
PPE Picker
- Label says DANGER→Full label PPE(Highest acute toxicity)
- Mixing concentrate→Gloves, apron, eyewear(Highest exposure step)
- Label requires eyewear→Goggles or face shield(Plus eyeflush water)
- Dust or mist hazard→N95 particulate respirator(Match label code)
- Vapor or fumigant→Organic vapor cartridge(Fit test first)
- Working overhead→Glove cuffs outside sleeves(Stops runoff inside)
- Hands below shoulders→Sleeves over glove cuffs(Runoff sheds outward)
- Hot weather in PPE→Work early, rotate breaks(Heat stress risk)
Signal Words + LD50
- DANGER + POISON
- Category I, skull symbol
- DANGER alone
- Category I irritation only
- WARNING
- Toxicity Category II
- CAUTION
- Category III, optional IV
- Oral Category I
- 50 mg/kg or less
- Oral Category II
- Over 50 through 500
- Oral Category III
- Over 500 through 5,000
- Oral Category IV
- Above 5,000 mg/kg
- Dermal Category I
- 200 mg/kg or less
- Inhalation Category I
- 0.2 mg/L or less
- LD50
- Dose killing half, mg/kg
- LC50
- Concentration killing half
- Lower LD50
- More toxic product
- Signal word basis
- Concentrate, not diluted spray
Exposure Routes
Dermal, inhalation, oral, ocular
Dermal: most poisoningsGroin absorbs mostScalp and ears absorb fastWash before eating
Acute vs Chronic Toxicity
Acute
- One short exposure
- LD50 sets signal word
Chronic
- Repeated low exposure
- No signal word warns
One dose vs years
PPE Essentials
- Label PPE
- Legal minimum, not maximum
- Baseline PPE
- Long sleeves, pants, shoes, socks
- Chemical-resistant materials
- Nitrile, butyl, neoprene, barrier laminate
- Never allowed
- Leather, canvas, cloth gloves
- Hands below shoulders
- Sleeves over glove cuffs
- Hands overhead
- Glove cuffs over sleeves
- N95 respirator
- Dusts and mists
- OV cartridge
- Organic vapors, fumigants
- Tight-fitting respirator
- Fit test, medical evaluation
- Apron
- Required when mixing, loading
- Wash PPE
- Separate from family laundry
- Discard clothing
- Soaked with concentrate
WPS Numbers
- Handler decon water
- 3 gallons each
- Worker decon water
- 1 gallon each
- Applying handler eyeflush
- 1 pint carried per handler
- Mix site eyeflush
- 6 gallons or 0.4 GPM
- Decon distance
- Within 1/4 mile
- AEZ, aerial or fine
- 100 feet
- AEZ, ground, coarse spray
- 25 feet
- AEZ scope
- Within establishment boundaries
- Training frequency
- Every 12 months
- Handler minimum age
- 18 years
- Post warning signs
- Before application starts
- Earliest posting
- 24 hours before application
- Remove signs
- Within 3 days after REI
- Standard sign
- 14 by 16 inches
- Display until
- 30 days after REI
- REI Category I
- 48 hours
- 72-hour REI trigger
- Outdoor OP, under 25 inches
- REI Category II
- 24 hours
- REI Category III or IV
- 12 hours
- Tank mix REI
- Longest one governs
Poisoning + First Aid
- Dermal exposure
- Most common applicator route
- Absorption hotspots
- Groin, scalp, ear canal
- Skin exposure
- Wash 15-20 minutes
- Eye exposure
- Gentle rinse 15-20 minutes
- Inhaled
- Fresh air, watch breathing
- Swallowed
- Call poison control first
- Vomiting
- Only if labeling directs
- OP or carbamate signs
- Sweating, pinpoint pupils, twitching
- Atropine
- OP and carbamate antidote
- 2-PAM
- Organophosphates only, not carbamates
- Poison Control
- 1-800-222-1222
- Heat stress
- PPE raises the risk
IPM Order
Identify, monitor, threshold, act, evaluate
Identify species and stageMonitor on a scheduleAct at the thresholdEvaluate the result
Contact vs Systemic
Contact
- Kills where it lands
- Needs thorough coverage
Systemic
- Moves inside the plant
- Reaches sucking insects
Coverage vs translocation
IPM Core Terms
- IPM goal
- Manage pests, not eradicate
- Step one
- Correct pest identification
- Monitoring
- Scouting on a schedule
- Economic injury level
- Damage equals control cost
- Action threshold
- Set below injury level
- Cultural control
- Rotation, sanitation, resistant varieties
- Mechanical control
- Cultivation, traps, barriers
- Biological control
- Predators, parasitoids, pathogens
- Genetic control
- Resistant plant varieties
- Regulatory control
- Quarantine, certified seed
- Chemical control
- Pesticide, one IPM tool
- Pheromone trap
- Times sprays, rarely controls
- Treating below threshold
- Wastes money, speeds resistance
Injury Level vs Threshold
Economic injury level
- Damage equals control cost
- Break-even pest density
Action threshold
- Set below injury level
- Triggers treatment earlier
Break-even vs act now
Pest Groups
- Weeds
- Annual, biennial, perennial
- Insects
- Six legs, three body regions
- Complete metamorphosis
- Egg, larva, pupa, adult
- Gradual metamorphosis
- Egg, nymph, adult
- Mites
- Eight legs, not insects
- Plant diseases
- Fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes
- Disease triangle
- Host, pathogen, favorable environment
- Vertebrates
- Rodents, birds, other mammals
- Chewing insects
- Stomach poisons work
- Sucking insects
- Need systemic or contact
- Best timing
- Small larvae, seedling weeds
Resistance Management
- How it starts
- Survivors breed, trait spreads
- Main driver
- Repeating one mode of action
- IRAC, FRAC, HRAC
- Group numbers on label
- Rotation rule
- Change group, not brand
- Rate rule
- Full labeled rate, correct timing
- Cross-resistance
- Same group also fails
- Non-chemical tactics
- Slow resistance buildup
- Failure check
- Rule out calibration, timing
Tank Mix Order
Water, WP, agitate, liquids, EC, surfactant
Half-fill with waterDry products go firstAgitate before adding moreSurfactants last
EC vs WP
EC
- Mixes easily, little agitation
- Solvents absorb through skin
- More phytotoxic
WP
- Dust inhalation while mixing
- Abrasive, plugs screens
- Needs constant agitation
Skin risk vs lung risk
Formulation Picker
- Skin absorption concern→WP or WDG(Avoid EC solvents)
- Dust inhalation concern→WDG or WSP(No loose powder)
- Phytotoxicity risk→WP or SC(EC burns foliage)
- Little agitation available→EC or SL(Stays in solution)
- No mixing wanted→Granule or RTU(Ready to use)
- Soil-active treatment→Granule(Needs soil moisture)
- Rodent or ant control→Bait(Attractant based)
- Bloom nearby→Avoid dusts, ME(Bees carry particles)
- Small spot job→RTU(No measuring)
Formulation Codes
- EC
- Emulsifiable concentrate
- WP
- Wettable powder
- WDG or DF
- Water-dispersible granule
- SC or F
- Suspension concentrate, flowable
- SP
- Soluble powder
- SL
- Soluble liquid
- G
- Granule
- P
- Pellet
- D
- Dust
- B
- Bait
- ULV
- Ultra-low volume
- RTU
- Ready to use
- ME
- Microencapsulated
- WSP
- Water-soluble packet
- A
- Aerosol
Formulation Traits
- EC upside
- Easy mixing, little residue
- EC risk
- Solvents raise skin absorption
- EC damage
- Phytotoxic, softens rubber
- WP upside
- Cheap, low skin absorption
- WP risk
- Dust inhalation while mixing
- WP handling
- Abrasive, plugs screens, settles
- WDG upside
- Pours without dust cloud
- Granule upside
- No mixing, almost no drift
- Granule need
- Soil moisture to release
- Dust risk
- Highest drift and inhalation
- Bait
- Attractant plus small dose
- ME risk
- Bees carry capsules home
Mixing + Compatibility
- Start tank
- Half water, agitation running
- Add order
- Product into water, never reverse
- Mix sequence
- WP, agitate, flowables, EC, surfactant
- Jar test
- Proportional mix, stand 15 minutes
- Incompatible signs
- Layers, flakes, gel, sludge
- Compatibility agent
- Add before the pesticides
- Highest exposure step
- Mixing and loading concentrate
- Surfactant
- Improves wetting and spreading
- Crop oil concentrate
- Boosts leaf penetration
- Drift retardant
- Increases droplet size
- Rinsate
- Use as makeup water
- Leftover spray
- Apply to a labeled site
Ounces Equal Gallons
1/128 acre: ounces caught = GPA
1/128 acre = 340.3 sq ft20-inch spacing = 204 feetCatch one nozzle, timedRead ounces as GPA
Calibration Math Picker
- Need gallons per acre→5940 x GPM/(MPH x W)(Broadcast boom)
- Need nozzle output→GPA x MPH x W/5940(Gallons per minute)
- No flow meter→1/128 acre method(Ounces equal GPA)
- Need ground speed→Feet ÷ seconds x 0.682(Loaded, working gear)
- Need acres per tank→Tank gallons ÷ GPA(Then multiply rate)
- Rate given as ai→Wanted ai ÷ ai content(Gives product amount)
- Percent spray needed→Gallons x 128 x percent(Answer in ounces)
- Banding rows→Broadcast x band/row(Per field acre)
- Applied rate too high→Slow down or smaller tips(Speed changes GPA)
Calibration Formulas
- GPA broadcast
- 5940 x GPM/(MPH x W)
- GPM per nozzle
- GPA x MPH x W/5940
- W
- Nozzle spacing in inches
- Speed check
- Feet ÷ seconds x 0.682
- Acres per tank
- Tank gallons ÷ GPA
- Product per tank
- Acres per tank x rate
- Total spray needed
- Acres x GPA
- lb ai to product
- Wanted ai ÷ ai content
- Percent solution
- Gallons x 128 x percent
- Band rate
- Broadcast x band/row spacing
- Rectangle area
- Length x width
- Circle area
- 3.14 x radius x radius
- Square feet to acres
- Divide by 43,560
1/128 Acre Method
- 1/128 acre
- 340.3 square feet
- Why it works
- Gallon holds 128 ounces
- Ounces caught
- Equal gallons per acre
- Course length
- 340.3 ÷ spacing in feet
- 15-inch spacing
- 272 feet
- 18-inch spacing
- 227 feet
- 20-inch spacing
- 204 feet
- 30-inch spacing
- 136 feet
- 40-inch spacing
- 102 feet
- Then
- Time course, catch one nozzle
- Catch time
- Seconds the course took
Worked Math Examples
- 300 gal tank, 20 GPA
- 15 acres per tank
- 15 acres x 1.5 pt
- 22.5 pints, about 2.8 gallons
- 40 acres at 20 GPA
- 800 gallons total spray
- 2 lb ai, 80% WP
- 2.5 lb product per acre
- 1 lb ai, 4EC
- One quart per acre
- 3% spray, 4-gal backpack
- 15.4 fluid ounces product
- 200 feet in 30 seconds
- 4.5 MPH
- 0.4 GPM, 5 MPH, 20 in
- 23.8 gallons per acre
- 15-inch band, 30-inch rows
- Half the broadcast rate
- 6 GPA, 3 gallons left
- Half an acre remaining
- Double the speed
- Half the gallons per acre
- Double nozzle output
- Needs four times pressure
Units + Conversions
- 1 gallon
- 128 fluid ounces
- 1 gallon
- 4 quarts, 8 pints
- 1 pint
- 16 fluid ounces
- 1 pound
- 16 ounces
- 1 tablespoon
- 3 teaspoons, 0.5 ounce
- 1 acre
- 43,560 square feet
- 1 mile
- 5,280 feet
- 1 MPH
- 88 feet per minute
- 1 cubic foot
- 7.48 gallons
- 1 acre-inch
- 27,154 gallons
- Water weight
- 8.34 pounds per gallon
- 1 percent
- 10,000 ppm
- 1 ppm
- 1 mg/L in water
Nozzles + Sprayers
- Flat fan
- Broadcast boom herbicide
- Even flat fan
- Band applications only
- Flood nozzle
- Coarse droplets, low pressure
- Hollow cone
- Foliar coverage, fungicides, insecticides
- Output is set by
- Orifice and pressure
- Pump
- Supplies volume, not rate
- Replace nozzle
- Over 10% off average
- Doubling pressure
- Only 1.4 times output
- Higher pressure
- Finer droplets, more drift
- Screen numbering
- Higher mesh, finer screen
- Calibrate with
- Clean water only
- Recalibrate when
- Nozzles, speed, or pressure change
Spill Three C's
Control, contain, clean up
Control: stop the leakContain: dike and absorbClean up: sweep, disposeNever leave it
Leaching vs Runoff
Leaching
- Moves down through soil
- Sandy, porous soils
Runoff
- Moves across the surface
- Clay, compacted, sloped
Down vs across
Drift Control Picker
- Sensitive crop downwind→Coarse droplets, buffer strip(Or do not spray)
- Wind under 3 mph→Stop, check inversion(Dew, fog, layered smoke)
- Wind over 10 mph→Postpone the application(Particle drift risk)
- Hot, dry, low humidity→Larger droplets, spray earlier(Evaporation shrinks droplets)
- Volatile product→Incorporate, avoid heat(Vapor drift)
- Boom riding high→Lower boom, wider tips(Less wind exposure)
- Near wells or water→Untreated buffer strip(Check label setbacks)
Drift Factors
- Biggest factor
- Droplet size
- Fine droplets
- Drift farthest
- Boom height
- Lower boom, less drift
- Pressure
- Lower pressure, coarser droplets
- Wind speed
- Best about 3-10 mph
- Wind direction
- Never toward sensitive areas
- Temperature inversion
- Do not spray
- Inversion clues
- Calm air, dew, layered smoke
- Hot, dry air
- Droplets evaporate and shrink
- Particle drift
- Moves during the application
- Vapor drift
- Moves after, volatile products
- Buffer zone
- Untreated downwind strip
Groundwater + Runoff
- Leaching chemical
- Soluble, weakly adsorbed, persistent
- Half-life
- Longer means more persistent
- Adsorption
- Binding to soil particles
- Leaching soils
- Sandy, low organic matter
- Runoff soils
- Clay, compacted, sloped
- Shallow water table
- Higher contamination risk
- Point source
- Spills, rinsing near wells
- Nonpoint source
- Field runoff and leaching
- Back-siphoning fix
- Air gap or check valve
- Mix and load
- Away from wells, water
Storage + Disposal
- Storage room
- Locked, dry, ventilated, posted
- Floor
- Impervious, no floor drain
- Separation
- Away from food, feed, seed
- Herbicides apart
- Prevent vapor cross-contamination
- Original container
- Never a food container
- Inventory
- Current list, share with firefighters
- Triple rinse
- One-fifth water, three times
- Each rinse
- Drain 30 seconds
- Pressure rinse
- At least 30 seconds
- After rinsing
- Puncture, then recycle
- Never
- Burn or reuse containers
- Excess pesticide
- Apply to a labeled site
Spills + Emergencies
- Three C's
- Control, contain, clean up
- Control
- Stop leak, wear PPE
- Contain
- Dike with soil, absorbent
- Clean up
- Absorb, sweep, dispose legally
- Never
- Hose spill toward drains
- Never leave
- A spill site unattended
- CHEMTREC
- 1-800-424-9300
- National Response Center
- 1-800-424-8802
- Transport rule
- Never in passenger compartment
- Fire response
- Give inventory, avoid smoke
Pollinators + Species
- Worst timing
- Blooming crop, bees foraging
- Better timing
- Late evening or night
- Blooming weeds
- Mow before you spray
- Worst formulations
- Dusts and microencapsulated products
- Bee hazard icon
- Pollinator protection label box
- Bulletins Live! Two
- Endangered species use limits
- Bulletin lookup
- Six months before applicationlabel rule
- Look up by
- EPA registration number
- Notify beekeepers
- Hives near treated fields
Common Traps
Label vs labeling
Label is on container ≠ Labeling includes supplemental directions
REI vs PHI
REI controls entry timing ≠ PHI controls harvest timing
Reg number vs Est number
Reg number identifies product ≠ Est number identifies facility
Signal word vs LD50
Signal word rates concentrate ≠ Lower LD50 means deadlier
Injury level vs threshold
Injury level is break-even ≠ Threshold triggers action sooner
Rate vs concentration
Rate is per acre ≠ Concentration is per gallon
Particle vs vapor drift
Particles move during application ≠ Vapors move after application
Toxicity vs hazard
Toxicity is inherent poison ≠ Hazard adds actual exposure
Glove cuffs up or down
Hands down: sleeves outside ≠ Hands overhead: gloves outside
Leaching vs runoff
Leaching moves downward ≠ Runoff moves across surface
Last Minute
- 1.Label is the law
- 2.DANGER-POISON = Toxicity Category I
- 3.Lower LD50 = more toxic
- 4.REI = entry; PHI = harvest
- 5.AEZ: 100 ft aerial, 25 ground
- 6.Handlers 3 gallons, workers 1
- 7.GPA = 5940 GPM/(MPH x W)
- 8.1/128 acre: ounces = GPA
- 9.Acres per tank = tank ÷ GPA
- 10.Percent: gallons x 128 x percent
- 11.Band = broadcast x band/row
- 12.Threshold sits below injury level
- 13.Rotate mode-of-action group numbers
- 14.WP needs agitation; EC absorbs
- 15.Triple rinse, then puncture container
- 16.Spill: control, contain, clean up
- 17.Never spray during temperature inversions
- 18.Certification lasts five years maximum
- 19.State sets exam length, score
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