MDA - Commercial Pesticide Application Certification Categories

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Commercial Pesticide Application Certification Categories

Commercial applicators who apply for certification or register applicator status must designate the type of pesticide application(s) they will make on the appropriate MDA application form.

Certification and/or registered applicator status is achieved by taking exam(s) and/or receiving training. There is a study manual and examination for each category of pesticide application. Study manuals, for select categories of pesticide application, may be viewed and downloaded at the Michigan State University Pesticide Education Web Site. Manuals may also be ordered by mail or picked up from some Michigan State University County Extension Offices. Visit the web site or check your local phone book for the nearest extension office.

Contact the MDA regional office near you for more specific information regarding categories of pesticide application in Michigan.

Category		Description
1A.	Field Crops	Includes agricultural crops such as cereal grains, feed grains, beans, soybeans, sugar beets and forage.
1B.	Vegetable Crops	Includes vegetables crops such as tomatoes, potatoes, snap beans, celery, onions, cucumbers and sweet corn.
1C.	Fruit Crops	Includes tree fruits, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries.
1D.	Livestock Pest Management	The application of pesticides to animals and to places on or in which animals are confined. (Doctors of veterinary mediciine engaged in the business of applying pesticides for hire, aside from the normal practice of veterinary medicine.)
2.	Forest Pest Management	Includes forests, forest nurseries and forest seed producing areas, Christmas trees and gypsy moth.
2A.	Forest Products Preservation	Includes the use of pesticides for preserving wood products such as poles, timbers and lumber.
3A.	Turfgrass Pest Management	Includes persons who use or supervise the use of pesticides to manage pests of turfgrasses.
3B.	Ornamental Plants and Shade Tree Pest Management	The use of pesticides to manage pests of ornamental plants in exterior areas such as evergreens, shrubs and shade trees.
4.	Seed Treatment	The application of pesticides on seeds.
5.	Aquatic Pest Management	The application of pesticides to standing or running water, i.e., lakes, ponds, streams, marshes, or ditches and tributaries which flow into them or the surfaces that contact such bodies of water for the purpose of managing aquatic pests. This category does not include applicators who engage in mosquito management.
5A.	Swimming Pools	Includes pesticides used in maintaining public or private swimming pools to control algae, bacteria or other swimming pool pests.
5B.	Microbial Pest Management	The use of pesticides to manage bacteria, fungi, algae or viruses in cooling towers, air washers, evaporative condensers, pulp and paper mills, sewer treatment, cutting tool lubricants, etc.
5C.	Sewer Line Pest Management	The use of pesticides to manage vegetation in sewer lines.
6	Right of Way Pest Management	The use of pesticides to maintain public roads, electric power lines, pipelines, right-of-way, parking lots, tennis courts or similar non-crop areas are included in this category. Applicators engaged in regulatory activities such as those included in Category 9 are excluded.
7A.	General Pest Management	Is comprehensive and intended to include aspects of pest control in and around structures. Category 7D is included in categroy 7A when controlling veterbrate pests typically associated with a structure, such as rats, mice and roosting birds.
7B.	Wood Destroying Organisms Management	Includes the use of pesticides for the management of wood-destroying pests such as: termites, powder post beetles, carpenter ants, wood destroying fungi, etc.
7D.	Vertebrate Pest Management	Includes the use of pesticides to manage vertebrate pests.
7E.	Interior Plant Pest Management	Includes the use of pesticides in the maintenance of plants at inside locations.
7F.	Mosquito Management	Includes pesticides used to manage mosquitoes in an outside environment.
7G.	Domestic Animal Pest Management	Refers to pesticide applications made on small domestic animals or in places where animals are kept. This category of pesticide application does not apply to large agricultural animals. (See category 1D.)
8.	Public Health Pest Management	Includes state, federal or other governmental employees who use or supervise the use of pesticides in public health programs for the management of pests that have medical and public health importance excluding mosquitoes.
9.	Regulatory Pest Management	Includes state, federal or other governmental employees who use or supervise the use of pesticides in the control of regulated pests.
10.	Demonstration & Research Pest Management	Includes individuals who demonstrate to the public the proper use and techniques of the application of pesticides or who conduct field research with pesticides.

Additional Standards are Required of Individuals Who Use the Following Application Methods:

Aerial	Applies to applicators who apply pesticides by aircraft.
Fumigation	Includes the application of a fumigant for structural, stored commodity, soil borne and greenhouse pests.


	Related Content
•	Pesticide Application Certification Details & FAQ
•	Qualifications and Requirements for Individuals Seeking Pesticide Application Registration or Certification Credentials
•	How to Obtain a Pesticide Applicator Certification/Registration Application
•	Examination Process and Examination Schedule
•	Renewal Process
•	Recertification/Reregistration Credit Requirements