DETAILED OCCUPATION DATA
37-2021 Pest Control Workers
Occupational Description:
Apply or release chemical solutions or toxic gases and set traps to kill or remove pests and vermin that infest buildings and surrounding areas.| Percentiles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geography | Employment | Emp SE* | Mean | Mean SE* | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
| La Crosse WI-MN MSA | 20 | 10 | $21.74/hr | $2.70/hr | $13.04/hr | $14.65/hr | $18.78/hr | $28.54/hr | $35.39/hr |
| Minnesota | 490 | 145 | $18.42/hr | $0.57/hr | $12.54/hr | $14.24/hr | $16.83/hr | $20.92/hr | $27.52/hr |
| U S | 79,450 | 1,271 | $19.53/hr | $0.21/hr | $12.19/hr | $14.74/hr | $18.27/hr | $23.56/hr | $29.52/hr |
| *SE = Standard error, a measure of the statistical reliability of the estimate. | |||||||||
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| Occupation (click title for details) | OES | Projections | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | Median Wage | % Change - | |
| Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers | 90 | $12.92/hr | N/A |
| Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Plating and Coating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Tasks for Pest Control Workers
- Sprays or dusts chemical solutions, powders, or gases into rooms, onto clothing, furnishings or wood, and over marshlands, ditches, catch-basins.
- Sets mechanical traps and places poisonous paste or bait in sewers, burrows, and ditches.
- Cuts or bores openings in building or surrounding concrete, accesses infested areas, inserts nozzle, and injects pesticide to impregnate ground.
- Directs and/or assists other workers in treatment and extermination processes to eliminate and control rodents, insects, and weeds.
- Studies preliminary reports and diagrams of infested area and determines treatment type required to eliminate and prevent recurrence of infestation.
- Digs up and burns or sprays weeds with herbicides.
- Cleans work site after completion of job.
- Records work activities performed.
- Drives truck equipped with power spraying equipment.
- Posts warning signs and locks building doors to secure area to be fumigated.
- Positions and fastens edges of tarpaulins over building and tapes vents to ensure air-tight environment and checks for leaks.
- Cleans and removes blockages from infested areas to facilitate spraying procedure and provide drainage, using broom, mop, shovel, and rake.
- Measures area dimensions requiring treatment, using rule, calculates fumigant requirements, and estimates cost for service.
- Inspects premises to identify infestation source and extent of damage to property, wall, and roof porosity, and access to infested locations.
