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Pesticide Certification: What, Why, and How-To

Description

What are Pesticides?

A pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances intended for:

defoliating or desiccating plants, preventing fruit drop, or inhibiting sprouting
for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any insects, rodents, fungi, bacteria, weeds, or other forms of plant or animal life or viruses, except viruses on or in living man or other animals

A device is any instrument or contrivance, subject to U.S. EPA regulation, intended for:

trapping, destroying, repelling, or mitigating insects or rodents
mitigating fungi, bacteria or weeds, or such other pests
not including equipment used for the application of pesticides when sold separately from the device

When in doubt, ask: Does the product make pesticidal claims? Does the product claim to control a pest? If a company or individual claims a product will control a pest, it is a pesticide. An example is Avon's "Skin So Soft." Initially, Avon did not make any pesticidal claims for Skin So Soft repelling insects. In not making those claims, Avon was not required to register Skin So Soft as a pesticide. Avon has since registered the product as a pesticide with the name Skin So Soft Plus. They now make pesticide claims.

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Why Pesticide Certification?

Pesticide certification is the process in which a person completes state requirements to sell, purchase, and/or use pesticides. The EPA and the North Dakota Pesticide Act requires an individual to become certified if the individual is using or merchandising a restricted-use-pesticide (RUP). As of August 1, 2001, North Dakota also requires commercial and public applicators to become certified to use general-use pesticides.

Pesticides are classified as either general or restricted use.
- General-use pesticides are considered safe for use by the average person provided they follow the label directions. Often there is no certification requirement for the use of a general-use pesticide (See exceptions under commercial/public applicators).
Pesticide certification is required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or U.S. EPA) for persons selling, purchasing, or using restricted-use pesticides (RUP).
- The regulation is under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Part 171. Requirements listed in Part 171 are intended as a minimum and set a federal standard from which the states can work. Many states have incorporated stricter regulations than the federal standards.

North Dakota State University Extension is responsible for the certification of pesticide applicators and/or dealers in North Dakota. Certification is intended to ensure that people who use/merchandise certain pesticides or who make specific types of pesticide applications have a fundamental understanding of how to do so safely. Pesticide certification is the foundation for the safe and effective use of pesticides.

The main intent of pesticide certification in North Dakota is to increase the awareness for

pesticide safety
proper use and disposal
understanding of the pesticide label and its importance.

Certification Standards

Certification means a person has met the certification standards established by the North Dakota Pesticide Control Board. Certification standards are met in the form of a written examination. North Dakota tests are monitored by NDSU Extension personnel. North Dakota does not provide oral testing. All tests are in English, the language that the pesticide labels are written in.

Certification standards required for commercial/public/dealers: Certification requirements for applicators and dealers are the same.

Core exam, basic laws and safety (Ground and/or Aerial)
Category or class exam(s)
Proof of financial responsibility (for commercial applicators only)
Certification fee

Certification standards required for private applicants: A private applicator may add fumigation or vertebrate fumigation after passing the exam. Additional fees apply.

General exam and additional endorsements if applicable
Certification fee

Study materials – Materials for the exams are provided by the NDSU Extension Pesticide Program. To obtain these materials, contact your local NDSU county extension office, the NDSU Extension Pesticide Program, or request materials from the NDSU Extension Pesticide Program web page at: http://ndsupesticide.org.

Training Sessions – Training sessions are not required but are extremely helpful for passing the certification exam(s). The NDSU Extension Pesticide Program conducts statewide training sessions each fall, winter and spring. Information on the training sessions is mailed annually to all certificate holders. County extension agents host private certification training sessions throughout the state. For further information, contact your local NDSU county extension office, NDSU Extension Pesticide Program, or access the NDSU Extension Pesticide Program web page at: http://ndsupesticide.org.

Once a person has met the certification standards, a certificate is issued to the individual in the category the standards meet. The card has the applicant's North Dakota pesticide Identification number, name and address of certificate holder, category(s) certified, and expiration date of each certified category. All categories expire on April 1 of the year indicated on the card.

Types of Certification

In North Dakota there are two basic types of pesticide certification: private or commercial/public/dealer.

Question	Private Applicator	Commercial/Public Applicator and Dealer
Who are they?	"any person who uses, or supervises the use of, any restricted pesticide for purposes of producing any agricultural commodity on property owned or rented by the person or his employer or… on the proper	"any person who engages in application or sale of pesticides or employment of devices."
Can they receive any compensation (payment other than trading of personal services)?	No	Yes
What’s the certification process?	Must pay the certification fee(s) and pass a monitored exam. May add the commodity and structural fumigation category and/or the vertebrate fumigation category after completing the general exam.	Must pay the certification fee and pass a monitored core and category exam(s).
Are they required to attend training?	Not required. Private applicator trainings are conducted by county agents in North Dakota.	Not required. Statewide training sessions are held each winter/spring presented by NDSU Extension Pesticide Program.

Training sessions are not required but are extremely helpful for passing the certification exam(s). For further information contact your local NDSU county extension office, or access the NDSU Extension Pesticide Program web page at: http://ndsupesticide.org.

A commercial/public applicator or dealer is

Commercial applicator is required of people who apply pesticides to the land or property of another for hire.
Public applicator means an applicator who applies pesticides as an employee of a state or federal agency, municipal corporation, public utility, hospital, privately owned golf course, nursery, greenhouse, or another governmental agency. Persons using only ready-to-use pesticides are exempt from this requirement.
Dealer certification is required of people who merchandise restricted-use pesticides.

Category/Class Descriptions

Commercial

FIFRA identifies 10 certification commercial categories in Part 171. States can subdivide or create additional categories with EPA approval. North Dakota has 11 categories in which a commercial/public/dealer can be certified. The categories are listed below. North Dakota divides these certifications into the status of

Ground applicator (including dealer) or
Aerial /ground applicator (including dealer)

A category or class describes where to apply a pesticide. For a certificate holder to apply or merchandise pesticides, the person must be certified in that particular category.

Category	Authorizes the use of pesticides...
Agricultural Pest Control (Plant and Animal)	… intended for agricultural crop land, grasslands, animals, animal facilities, and non-crop lands including (but not limited to): natural areas, fallow, non-producing agricultural lands and mines.
Commodity and structural fumigation	… intended for raw agricultural commodities, processed foods, nonfood commodities, transport vessels, commodity processing facilities, and commodity storage structures.
Greenhouse	… intended for greenhouses.
Home, Industrial, and Institutional Pest Control	… in or around food-handling establishments, human dwellings, public or private institutions, warehouses, grain elevators, and any other structures.
Ornamental & Turf Pest Control	… intended for producing and maintaining ornamental trees, shrubs, flowers, and turf.
Public Health Pest Control	… by government employees, applicators working under government contract, or other persons for public health purposes (Example: Mosquito or vector control).
Research and Demonstration	… by individuals for the purpose of education or research. These would include county agents, state, federal, and commercial employees, plus other persons conducting research or demonstrating the proper application of restricted use pesticides.
Right-of-Way	… in parking lots and rights-of-way for roads, power lines, telecommunication lines, pipelines, and railways, and in other similar areas.
Seed Treatment Pest Control	… intended for agricultural crop seeds, other seeds, and vegetative seed stocks.
Wood Preservatives	… intended to preserve lumber products.
Vertebrate Pest Control	… intended to control vertebrate pests, such as rodents, certain predators, and bats not in or around structures.
Sewer Root Control	… intended to control tree or other plant roots infesting sewer systems.

Private

Category	Authorizes the use of pesticides…
General	… intended for private applications using restricted use pesticides in production of agricultural crops including cereal grain, feed grains, soybeans, forages, large and small seeded legumes, small fruits, tree fruits, nuts, and vegetables, as well as application to grasslands and non-crop lands. This also includes the use of restricted use pesticides on animals, beef cattle, dairy cattle, swine, sheep, horses, goats, poultry, other livestock, as well as places on or in which animals are confined.
Commodity and structural fumigation	… intended for raw agricultural commodities, processed foods, nonfood commodities, transport vessels, commodity processing facilities, and commodity storage structures.
Vertebrate control with fumigant pesticides	… to control vertebrate pests, such as rodents, certain predators, and bats not in/around structures.

Financial Responsibility (Commercial Applicator Only)

Certified commercial applicators must obtain and provide proof of financial responsibility. If proof of financial responsibility is not provided and maintained, the certificate holder is in violation of the law.

The minimum amount of coverage required as proof of financial responsibility is:

a notarized letter from an officer of a financial institution or a certified public accountant attesting to the existence of net assets at least $100,000
a performance bond of at least $100,000
a coverage of $100,000 general liability per occurrence
provide documentation that you qualify for an exemption.

For more detailed information about financial responsibility and how to be in compliance with North Dakota law, contact your local NDSU county extension office, NDSU Extension Pesticide Program, or access the NDSU Extension Pesticide Program web page at: http://ndsupesticide.org.

Recertification (Renewal of Certification)

All pesticide certifications must be recertified, or renewed, every three years. A certificate expires the first day of April following two years from the year of issuance.

Commercial/public/dealer and private applicators can be recertified by two methods. One method is to attend a recertification training when a category is up for renewal. Another is to retest in the expired category by passing a monitored exam(s) at your local NDSU county extension office.

Minor use categories such as Home, Industrial, and Institutional; Public Health; Wood Preservatives; Vertebrate, and Sewer Root are allowed to recertify by passing a home study course. Minor-Use home study courses can be requested from your local NDSU county extension office, or the NDSU Extension Pesticide Program.

Reciprocal Agreements

If North Dakota law requires you to have a pesticide certification, you must hold a North Dakota certificate. A valid certification in another state may help you obtain a North Dakota certificate, but it does not substitute for one.

North Dakota may issue a certification on a reciprocal basis, without examination, to nonresidents who are certified to use restricted use or merchandise pesticides under an EPA-approved program. Whether reciprocity exists or not depends on other state's regulations and how similar they are to North Dakota. Eligibility for an individual holding a certificate will be determined on a case by case basis.

Out-of-state applicators and dealers must meet all requirements for certification in North Dakota. These requirements include:

certification fee
proof of a valid pesticide license or certificate from state of residence
picture identification
proof of financial responsibility (commercial applicators only)
documents on file with respect to an appointment of agent with NDSU

To request information on how to apply for reciprocal certification in North Dakota contact the NDSU Extension Pesticide Program, or access the NDSU Extension Pesticide Program web page at: http://ndsupesticide.org

Pesticide Certification: What, Why, and How-To

What are Pesticides?

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