Explore by Career/Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Pest Control Workers
Apply or release chemical solutions or toxic gases and set traps to kill or remove pests and vermin that infest buildings and surrounding areas.
- Median pay
- $44,730
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- +4.9%
- Stable
- Typical entry
- High school diploma or equivalent
Key skills
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Time Management
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
What they do
- Record work activities performed.
- Inspect premises to identify infestation source and extent of damage to property, wall, or roof porosity and access to infested locations.
- Recommend treatment and prevention methods for pest problems to clients.
- Spray or dust chemical solutions, powders, or gases into rooms, onto clothing, furnishings, or wood, or over marshlands, ditches, or catch basins.
- Clean work site after completion of job.
- Drive truck equipped with power spraying equipment.
- Measure area dimensions requiring treatment, calculate fumigant requirements, and estimate cost for service.
- Study preliminary reports or diagrams of infested area and determine treatment type required to eliminate and prevent recurrence of infestation.
- Direct, or assist other workers in, treatment or extermination processes to eliminate or control rodents, insects, or weeds.
- Post warning signs and lock building doors to secure area to be fumigated.
Majors that lead here
No mapped majors yet.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.