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- Pesticide
Certification and Licensing
- Continuing
Education FAQ
- What is continuing education?
- Continuing education is the process by which
you expand your professional knowledge, making you a better applicator
who is more valuable to your employer. The Pesticide Bureau requires
that you complete a minimum number of continuing education contact
hours over the course of each three-year certification period for
your benefit as well as that of the public.
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- Why do applicators need continuing education?
- There are several reasons that the Pesticide
Bureau considers so important that it requires continuing education
in order for you to retain your li cense:
- Most professions have continuing education requirements,
and in this, the pest control.
- Periodic training keeps you current with developments
in the industry, from new chemicals to recent.
- More training makes you a more knowledgeable,
efficient applicator.
- The pbulic has confidence in pest control applicators
as professionals, because they know that besides being tested and
certified by the state, they are required to obtain continuing education
credits.
- How Do I Get Contact Hours?
- Contact hours can be obtained by attending certified training sessions.
You can find out courses are being offered by Umass
Extension.
The Pesticide Bureau realizes that as a busy pest control professional,
your time is limited, but Umass and our other providers often arrange
the training sessions so that you can get all the contact hours you
need to recertify in just one day.
Once I Get my contact hours, what do I do?
Retain your certificates in the file that you’ve compile with the
documents pertaining to your pesticide license. Keep this file in a
safe place, but one that is easily accessible by you.
- I saw a course offered in another state
that looked interesting. Can this course be credited toward the contact
hours I need?
- In most cases, yes. The Commonwealth is flexible
about counting contact hours earned at seminars and training opportunities
held in other states, as long as the course has been approved by the
regulatory agency that oversees pesticide licensing and training in
the state where the event is held.
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- If I’m audited, is there an expiration
date on the validity of the contact hours I’ve earned?
- Yes. The contact hours you submit as part of
the audit process must have been earned during the current
Certification period, i.e., within the last three
years of the anniversary of the issue of your original pesticide license.
- I’m unable to locate any training
opportunities and I’ve been audited. I don’t want to lose
my license? What can I do?
- First of all, don’t panic. You have a couple
of options:
Contact the person who sells you pesticides and
see if they can set something up for you.
The Pesticide Bureau accepts certified correspondence
courses to fulfill your contact hours requirement. Two proven sources
of correspondence education are:
Purdue University Continuing Education.
University of Georgia.
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