IOWA PESTICIDE APPLICATOR (2026) COMPREHENSIVE
QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED ANSWERS | LATEST EXAM UPDATE
Intro: Types of pesticide applicators in Iowa - CORRECT ANSWER -
Commercial Applicators (another person for compensation); Public Applicators
(as employee govt agencies); Noncommercial Applicators (property owned,
rented, or leased by the applicator or the applicator's employer); Private
Applicators (agricultural); Certified Handlers (preparing, mixing, or loading
pesticides)
Intro: Describe certification & recertification requirements - CORRECT
ANSWER - Certification: Employed by a certified, licensed company; fee paid
to IDALS; 21-day grace period (direct supervision); closed-book exam.
Recertification: 3-year qualification cycle; renewable by either testing every
third year or attending approved continuing instruction courses (CIC); core &
categories; fee & you get a form.
C1: What agency regulates pesticide use in US - CORRECT ANSWER - U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
C1: Summarize pesticide registration & re-registration - CORRECT ANSWER
- FIFRA requires the EPA to regulate the sale & use & they do this through
registration & labeling of pesticide products; human health & the environment.
Re-registration FIFRA requires EPA to conduct comprehensive reviews of older
pesticides human health & environmental effects
C1: Understand the penalties for violations of FIFRA - CORRECT ANSWER
- Violations of the legal provisions established in FIFRA civil penalties as much
as $6,500 for each offense; violation of the law also may subject you to criminal
penalties up to $25,000 or one year in prison, or both.
,C1: FIFRA - CORRECT ANSWER - Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (1947) regulates the production, transportation, sale, use, &
disposal of all pesticides
C1: FFDCA - CORRECT ANSWER - Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
sets allowable residue levels to ensure the safety of the food supply
C1: FQPA - CORRECT ANSWER - Food Quality Protection Act amended
both FIFRA & FFDCA & set a tougher standard for pesticides on food.
C1: Residues & Tolerances - CORRECT ANSWER - Residues: Small amounts
of pesticides on fruits, vegetables, grains, other foods, & animal feeds.
Tolerances: the EPA sets allowable residue levels under FFDCA regs, safe
tolerances "a reasonable certainty of no harm".
C1: How does the ESA relate to pesticides - CORRECT ANSWER - The
Endangered Species Act (ESA): Pesticides use may directly or indirectly,
through drift and runoff, affect endangered or threatened species & their habitat.
C1: Summarize RCRA - CORRECT ANSWER - Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA) gives EPA the authority to control hazardous waste from
the "cradle-to-grave", rinsates & hazardous waste; become solid wastes when
you want to discard.
C1: Who is protected by the WPS - CORRECT ANSWER - Worker Protection
Standard (WPS) helps protect employees on farms, forests, nurseries, &
greenhouses from occupational exposure.
C2: List the requirements of pesticide applicator records - CORRECT
ANSWER - 1) Name & certification number of licensee; 2) Name & address of
landowner or customer; 3) Address of the place of application of pesticide; 4)
Date of application; 5) Trade name of pesticide;
, 6) Quantity of pesticide used & the concentration or rate of application; 7)
Temperature and direction & velocity of wind; 8) the use of "restricted use"
pesticides; 9) Time pesticide application begins & ends.
C2: Describe the Sensitive Crops Directory - CORRECT ANSWER - It is an
online registry to identify locations of pesticide-sensitive crops & apiaries (bee
yards): vineyards, orchards, certified organic crops, and fruit & vegetable crops.
Susceptible to drift & meet minimum acreage requirements.
C2: Iowa Bee Rule - CORRECT ANSWER - Owners of apiaries shall register
location (expires Dec 31); shall not apply a pesticide labeled as toxic to bees
within 1 mile of apiaries between 8 am & 6 pm (registered on 1st day of month)
C2: List the notification requirements for urban pesticide applications -
CORRECT ANSWER - Notification: must post signs at the start of
application; display signs for at least 24 hrs after the application (longer if label
requires); does not apply to pesticides applied within a structure or within 6 ft of
the outside perimeter of a structure, nor to the homeowner or tenant. Also,
prenotification, durable signs, remove, provide label
C2: Summarize the Iowa atrazine management rules - CORRECT ANSWER -
Atrazine is a restricted use pesticide due to ground & surface water concerns.
Atrazine application rates are limited to 2.5 lbs per acre per calendar year;
restricts rates to 1.5 lbs in 23 counties (7 county -wide 16 in some townships);
may not be mixed, loaded, or repackaged within 50 feet of a sinkhole, well,
cistern, lake, water impoundment, this includes, but is not limited to, abandoned
wells, agricultural drainage wells & drainage well surface inlets, & drinking
water wells; atrazine mixing, loading, & equipment cleanout must meet the
secondary containment requirements in the Iowa administrative code.
C2: Recognize the requirements of on-site containment of pesticides -
CORRECT ANSWER - All non-mobile bulk pesticide storage containers must
be located within a watertight secondary containment facility, a structure used to
prevent runoff or leaching of pesticide materials. If you store for more than 30
days & mix more than 300 gal and/or 300 lbs, your facility is considered a
QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED ANSWERS | LATEST EXAM UPDATE
Intro: Types of pesticide applicators in Iowa - CORRECT ANSWER -
Commercial Applicators (another person for compensation); Public Applicators
(as employee govt agencies); Noncommercial Applicators (property owned,
rented, or leased by the applicator or the applicator's employer); Private
Applicators (agricultural); Certified Handlers (preparing, mixing, or loading
pesticides)
Intro: Describe certification & recertification requirements - CORRECT
ANSWER - Certification: Employed by a certified, licensed company; fee paid
to IDALS; 21-day grace period (direct supervision); closed-book exam.
Recertification: 3-year qualification cycle; renewable by either testing every
third year or attending approved continuing instruction courses (CIC); core &
categories; fee & you get a form.
C1: What agency regulates pesticide use in US - CORRECT ANSWER - U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
C1: Summarize pesticide registration & re-registration - CORRECT ANSWER
- FIFRA requires the EPA to regulate the sale & use & they do this through
registration & labeling of pesticide products; human health & the environment.
Re-registration FIFRA requires EPA to conduct comprehensive reviews of older
pesticides human health & environmental effects
C1: Understand the penalties for violations of FIFRA - CORRECT ANSWER
- Violations of the legal provisions established in FIFRA civil penalties as much
as $6,500 for each offense; violation of the law also may subject you to criminal
penalties up to $25,000 or one year in prison, or both.
,C1: FIFRA - CORRECT ANSWER - Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (1947) regulates the production, transportation, sale, use, &
disposal of all pesticides
C1: FFDCA - CORRECT ANSWER - Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
sets allowable residue levels to ensure the safety of the food supply
C1: FQPA - CORRECT ANSWER - Food Quality Protection Act amended
both FIFRA & FFDCA & set a tougher standard for pesticides on food.
C1: Residues & Tolerances - CORRECT ANSWER - Residues: Small amounts
of pesticides on fruits, vegetables, grains, other foods, & animal feeds.
Tolerances: the EPA sets allowable residue levels under FFDCA regs, safe
tolerances "a reasonable certainty of no harm".
C1: How does the ESA relate to pesticides - CORRECT ANSWER - The
Endangered Species Act (ESA): Pesticides use may directly or indirectly,
through drift and runoff, affect endangered or threatened species & their habitat.
C1: Summarize RCRA - CORRECT ANSWER - Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA) gives EPA the authority to control hazardous waste from
the "cradle-to-grave", rinsates & hazardous waste; become solid wastes when
you want to discard.
C1: Who is protected by the WPS - CORRECT ANSWER - Worker Protection
Standard (WPS) helps protect employees on farms, forests, nurseries, &
greenhouses from occupational exposure.
C2: List the requirements of pesticide applicator records - CORRECT
ANSWER - 1) Name & certification number of licensee; 2) Name & address of
landowner or customer; 3) Address of the place of application of pesticide; 4)
Date of application; 5) Trade name of pesticide;
, 6) Quantity of pesticide used & the concentration or rate of application; 7)
Temperature and direction & velocity of wind; 8) the use of "restricted use"
pesticides; 9) Time pesticide application begins & ends.
C2: Describe the Sensitive Crops Directory - CORRECT ANSWER - It is an
online registry to identify locations of pesticide-sensitive crops & apiaries (bee
yards): vineyards, orchards, certified organic crops, and fruit & vegetable crops.
Susceptible to drift & meet minimum acreage requirements.
C2: Iowa Bee Rule - CORRECT ANSWER - Owners of apiaries shall register
location (expires Dec 31); shall not apply a pesticide labeled as toxic to bees
within 1 mile of apiaries between 8 am & 6 pm (registered on 1st day of month)
C2: List the notification requirements for urban pesticide applications -
CORRECT ANSWER - Notification: must post signs at the start of
application; display signs for at least 24 hrs after the application (longer if label
requires); does not apply to pesticides applied within a structure or within 6 ft of
the outside perimeter of a structure, nor to the homeowner or tenant. Also,
prenotification, durable signs, remove, provide label
C2: Summarize the Iowa atrazine management rules - CORRECT ANSWER -
Atrazine is a restricted use pesticide due to ground & surface water concerns.
Atrazine application rates are limited to 2.5 lbs per acre per calendar year;
restricts rates to 1.5 lbs in 23 counties (7 county -wide 16 in some townships);
may not be mixed, loaded, or repackaged within 50 feet of a sinkhole, well,
cistern, lake, water impoundment, this includes, but is not limited to, abandoned
wells, agricultural drainage wells & drainage well surface inlets, & drinking
water wells; atrazine mixing, loading, & equipment cleanout must meet the
secondary containment requirements in the Iowa administrative code.
C2: Recognize the requirements of on-site containment of pesticides -
CORRECT ANSWER - All non-mobile bulk pesticide storage containers must
be located within a watertight secondary containment facility, a structure used to
prevent runoff or leaching of pesticide materials. If you store for more than 30
days & mix more than 300 gal and/or 300 lbs, your facility is considered a
