Find out if you need a pesticide applicator license to lawfully apply pesticides in the State of Florida.
There’s no denying there are a lot of insects in Florida, and many of them are pests in our homes, farms, and commercial enterprises. Oftentimes, applying pesticides is the only way to combat these bugs, but most people do not know that a pesticide applicator license is required to use pesticides. A UF/IFAS blog shared the ins and outs of the requirements of such a license. See the details below.
Requires a Pesticide Applicator License
According to the blog, “Pesticide licensing is a federal mandate and any restricted use pesticide or even just specific application locations, such as in or around dwellings, would require a licensed pesticide applicator to apply.” So most instances require you to have a pesticide applicator license.
In Florida, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) is in charge of pesticide licensing, and there are three main types of applicator license:
Private. “Many agriculture farmers will only need a private applicator license. This will allow the farmer, or employee, to apply restricted-use pesticides via ground application on property owned or rented by the farm business or license holder to produce an agriculture commodity. In order to become licensed as a private applicator, you must take 2 separate exams: the general standards (CORE) exam and the private applicator exam.”.
Public. “The less common agriculture public applicator license is a special license required for employees of county, state, local, or other governmental agency and apply restricted-use pesticides on the job. This license type is only valid for the work performed for the government agency and is not valid outside of this work.”
Commercial. “A commercial applicator is any person using restricted-use pesticides in agriculture or any related area for any purpose other than the other license classifications. A commercial license may substitute for a private or public license under most circumstances. Commercial applicators must also choose specific categories to receive their license in. A commercial applicator may have many separate categories depending on the types of jobs they are required to do.”
The blog maintains that extension services offer training in pesticide applications.
Griffin Fertilizer is committed to helping both growers and ranchers make sound agronomic and economic decisions in order to maximize the health of their grove and pasture. As a full-service custom dry & liquid fertilizer blender and crop protection product distributor, we will continue our mission to further advance Florida agriculture. For questions or concerns about your farm or pasture, contact us and one of our team will be in touch.