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Landscape Maintenance Pest Control License QAC
Category B – exam ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE THIS YEAR
QAC Category B – Landscape Maintenance Pest Control License exam. This package contains exam-
focused, scenario-based multiple-choice questions and answers with detailed rationales, designed to
help you successfully prepare for the Qualified Applicator Certificate (QAC) Category B exam.
EXAM COVERAGE: TOPICS YOU WILL BE TESTED ON
The QAC Category B exam covers the following major areas:
• Laws, Regulations, and Basic Principles (The "Core" Exam): This is required for everyone. You
must pass this core exam and at least one pest control category examination with a score of 70
percent or higher. Topics include the Food and Agricultural Code (FAC), California Code of
Regulations (3 CCR), General Standards for Certification of Commercial Applicators, surface
water protection rules, pesticide use reporting (PURs), and recordkeeping requirements.
• Category B – Landscape Maintenance Pest Control: The scope is defined in 3 CCR section
6530(b): "The maintenance of preexisting, planted, or artificial ornamental plants and turf
surrounding areas such as residences, parks, streets, and commercial, industrial, and
institutional buildings". This category does not include direct application to running or standing
water or the use of any pesticide labeled as a fumigant.
• Pest Identification & Biology: Weeds (annual, biennial, perennial; monocots vs. dicots); insects
(arthropods, complete vs. incomplete metamorphosis, chewing vs. sucking mouthparts, orders
like Thysanoptera, Heteroptera, Homoptera, Hymenoptera); plant pathogens (fungi, bacteria,
viruses); and vertebrate pests (rodents, birds, other mammals).
• Pesticide Safety & Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Toxicity measures (LD50); Signal
Words (Danger/Warning/Caution); routes of exposure (dermal, inhalation, oral, ocular); first aid
procedures; PPE selection, cleaning, and maintenance; engineering controls; and
decontamination requirements. PPE must be cleaned after each use.
• Pesticide Application Methods: Preventive vs. curative treatments; spot treatments vs.
broadcast applications; calibration; drift management; nozzle selection; and the importance of
reading and following label instructions.
• Integrated Pest Management (IPM): Prevention, cultural controls (sanitation, mowing, plant
selection), mechanical controls (barriers, traps), biological controls, and monitoring.
• Surface Water Protection Regulations (3 CCR §6970): This regulation applies to anyone
performing pest control for hire, including landscape maintenance gardeners, using specific
pyrethroids outdoors. Key restrictions include prohibitions on application during precipitation,
to standing water, to storm drains, and within 25 feet of aquatic habitats.
• Recordkeeping and Reporting: Retention of pesticide use records (2 years), application
completion notices (2 years), written recommendations and work orders (1 year), and
submission of annual pesticide use reports (PURs) to the County Agricultural Commissioner.
• Continuing Education (CE): QAC holders must accumulate at least 20 hours of approved CE
every two years before certificate renewal. Four of the 20 hours must cover pesticide laws and
regulations.
, Page 2 of 165
PEST IDENTIFICATION AND BIOLOGY (Questions 1-40)
1. A landscaper notices irregular brown patches in a turf area. The damage appears in a pattern
following the sprinkler heads. What type of pest is most likely responsible?
A) Fungal pathogen
B) White grubs
C) Nematodes
D) Weeds
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Fungal diseases often develop in patterns related to moisture distribution from irrigation
systems, creating circular or irregular brown patches that follow sprinkler coverage.
2. A rose bush shows black spots on leaves with yellowing tissue around the spots. What is the probable
diagnosis?
A) Black spot fungus (Diplocarpon rosae)
B) Aphid infestation
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C) Powdery mildew
D) Spider mite damage
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Black spot is a common fungal disease of roses, characterized by distinctive circular black
spots with fringed margins and surrounding yellow halos.
3. A garden center employee notices white, cottony masses on the undersides of leaves. The masses
move slightly when touched. What pest is this?
A) Mealybugs
B) Scale insects
C) Aphids
D) Whiteflies
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Mealybugs produce distinctive white, waxy, cotton-like secretions and are slow-moving. They
typically cluster on leaf undersides and stems.
, Page 4 of 165
4. A maintenance gardener finds a plant with leaves that are stippled with tiny yellow and white dots,
and fine webbing is visible on the undersides. Which pest is responsible?
A) Aphids
B) Thrips
C) Spider mites
D) Whiteflies
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Spider mites feed by piercing plant cells and sucking out contents, causing characteristic
stippling. The presence of fine webbing is diagnostic for spider mites. They are arthropods belonging to
the class Arachnida, with life stages including egg, larva, nymph, and adult.
5. A lawn appears to have patches where the grass pulls up easily, revealing C-shaped white grubs.
These grubs are the larval stage of:
A) Ants
B) Beetles (Scarabaeidae)
Landscape Maintenance Pest Control License QAC
Category B – exam ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE THIS YEAR
QAC Category B – Landscape Maintenance Pest Control License exam. This package contains exam-
focused, scenario-based multiple-choice questions and answers with detailed rationales, designed to
help you successfully prepare for the Qualified Applicator Certificate (QAC) Category B exam.
EXAM COVERAGE: TOPICS YOU WILL BE TESTED ON
The QAC Category B exam covers the following major areas:
• Laws, Regulations, and Basic Principles (The "Core" Exam): This is required for everyone. You
must pass this core exam and at least one pest control category examination with a score of 70
percent or higher. Topics include the Food and Agricultural Code (FAC), California Code of
Regulations (3 CCR), General Standards for Certification of Commercial Applicators, surface
water protection rules, pesticide use reporting (PURs), and recordkeeping requirements.
• Category B – Landscape Maintenance Pest Control: The scope is defined in 3 CCR section
6530(b): "The maintenance of preexisting, planted, or artificial ornamental plants and turf
surrounding areas such as residences, parks, streets, and commercial, industrial, and
institutional buildings". This category does not include direct application to running or standing
water or the use of any pesticide labeled as a fumigant.
• Pest Identification & Biology: Weeds (annual, biennial, perennial; monocots vs. dicots); insects
(arthropods, complete vs. incomplete metamorphosis, chewing vs. sucking mouthparts, orders
like Thysanoptera, Heteroptera, Homoptera, Hymenoptera); plant pathogens (fungi, bacteria,
viruses); and vertebrate pests (rodents, birds, other mammals).
• Pesticide Safety & Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Toxicity measures (LD50); Signal
Words (Danger/Warning/Caution); routes of exposure (dermal, inhalation, oral, ocular); first aid
procedures; PPE selection, cleaning, and maintenance; engineering controls; and
decontamination requirements. PPE must be cleaned after each use.
• Pesticide Application Methods: Preventive vs. curative treatments; spot treatments vs.
broadcast applications; calibration; drift management; nozzle selection; and the importance of
reading and following label instructions.
• Integrated Pest Management (IPM): Prevention, cultural controls (sanitation, mowing, plant
selection), mechanical controls (barriers, traps), biological controls, and monitoring.
• Surface Water Protection Regulations (3 CCR §6970): This regulation applies to anyone
performing pest control for hire, including landscape maintenance gardeners, using specific
pyrethroids outdoors. Key restrictions include prohibitions on application during precipitation,
to standing water, to storm drains, and within 25 feet of aquatic habitats.
• Recordkeeping and Reporting: Retention of pesticide use records (2 years), application
completion notices (2 years), written recommendations and work orders (1 year), and
submission of annual pesticide use reports (PURs) to the County Agricultural Commissioner.
• Continuing Education (CE): QAC holders must accumulate at least 20 hours of approved CE
every two years before certificate renewal. Four of the 20 hours must cover pesticide laws and
regulations.
, Page 2 of 165
PEST IDENTIFICATION AND BIOLOGY (Questions 1-40)
1. A landscaper notices irregular brown patches in a turf area. The damage appears in a pattern
following the sprinkler heads. What type of pest is most likely responsible?
A) Fungal pathogen
B) White grubs
C) Nematodes
D) Weeds
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Fungal diseases often develop in patterns related to moisture distribution from irrigation
systems, creating circular or irregular brown patches that follow sprinkler coverage.
2. A rose bush shows black spots on leaves with yellowing tissue around the spots. What is the probable
diagnosis?
A) Black spot fungus (Diplocarpon rosae)
B) Aphid infestation
, Page 3 of 165
C) Powdery mildew
D) Spider mite damage
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Black spot is a common fungal disease of roses, characterized by distinctive circular black
spots with fringed margins and surrounding yellow halos.
3. A garden center employee notices white, cottony masses on the undersides of leaves. The masses
move slightly when touched. What pest is this?
A) Mealybugs
B) Scale insects
C) Aphids
D) Whiteflies
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Mealybugs produce distinctive white, waxy, cotton-like secretions and are slow-moving. They
typically cluster on leaf undersides and stems.
, Page 4 of 165
4. A maintenance gardener finds a plant with leaves that are stippled with tiny yellow and white dots,
and fine webbing is visible on the undersides. Which pest is responsible?
A) Aphids
B) Thrips
C) Spider mites
D) Whiteflies
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Spider mites feed by piercing plant cells and sucking out contents, causing characteristic
stippling. The presence of fine webbing is diagnostic for spider mites. They are arthropods belonging to
the class Arachnida, with life stages including egg, larva, nymph, and adult.
5. A lawn appears to have patches where the grass pulls up easily, revealing C-shaped white grubs.
These grubs are the larval stage of:
A) Ants
B) Beetles (Scarabaeidae)
