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Virginia Commercial Pesticide Applicators
CORE exam Questions and Correct Answers
Explain the difference between key pests, occasional pests and
secondary pests Ans: — Key pests are nearly always present and
require regular control. occasional pests are migratory or cyclical
and require intermittent control. secondary pests require control
only under certain conditions, such as the elimination of a key
pest or the absence of a natural host.
what should you do first if you see damage to a plant, animal, or
valuable product/ Ans: — identify the cause
what should you do first if you discover a pest that may need to be
controlled? Ans: — make sure the pest is actually responsible for
the damage. then accurately identify the pest
how can pest identification help you develop a good pest control
strategy? Ans: — it allows you to determine basic information
about the pest, including its life-cycle and when it is most
susceptible to control measures.
name the 5 basic pest groups Ans: — weeds, parasites and
diseases, mollusks, arthropods, and vertebrates.
why do weeds present such a challenge to pest managers? Ans: —
weeds are often hardy, aggressive, and tolerant of harsh
conditions. many produce large numbers of seeds which can
spread over a wide area and remain dormant for a long time.
how can you tell a monocot from a dicot? Ans: — monocots
(sedges and grasses) have one cotyledon, parallel leaf veins, flower
parts in multiples of 3 and fibrous roots. Dicots have 2 cotyledons,
broad leaves with netted veination, and flower parts in multiples
of 4 and 5 and usually have taproots.
name the pathogens that cause most plant and animal diseases
Ans: — fungi, bacteria, mycoplasma, and viruses
what are the symptoms of viral plant diseases Ans: — stunting,
yellow rings on leaves, wilting, and mosaic patterns
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 2 | Page
how do plant parasitic nematodes harm plants? Ans: — by
attacking the roots, stems and leaves. nematode root feeding
interferes with a plants ability to take up water and nutrients.
infected plants wilt and seem to be suffering from a lack of water
or nutrients.
how do mollusks harm plants? Ans: — by feeding on foliage and
fruit. mollusks reduce the value of commercial produce if they
feed on harvested plants and fruit.
what are arthropods? how do they differ from vertebrates? Ans: —
arthropods are animals with segmented bodies and jointed
appendages. Arthropods have an external skeleton and may have
specialized appendages such as sucking tubes, chewing mouth
parts, antennae, and pincers. they have no backbones like
vertebrates
what is the difference between gradual and complete
metamorphosis? why is it important to know the life cycle stage of
an insect? Ans: — gradual metamorphosis includes 3 stages: egg,
nymph and adult. there is no pupa stage. complete metamorphosis
includes 4 stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. insects that develop
via complete metamorphosis change body form. larvae may not
look at all like adults within the same species.it is very important
to recognize the damaging stage for best treatment results. many
insect are pests in one stage but not another. especially larval
form.
what are beneficial insects? and why are they important to
agriculture? Ans: — insects that are pollinators (bees and
butterflies) or pest predators (ladybeetles and lacewings). with out
pollinators many types of plants could not reproduce and
beneficial predators feed on harmful insects, mites, and weeds.
how do mites harm plants? Ans: — They suck the plant juices, eat
the underside of leaves, and disfigure the plants they feed on.
what is an economic threshold? Ans: — the level at which
economic losses caused by pest damage, if the pest population
continued to grow, would be greater than the cost of controlling
the pests. reaching an economic threshold usually prompts some
kind of pest control action.
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 3 | Page
how are thresholds important to a sound pest control strategy?
Ans: — setting a treatment or action threshold is essential to
prevent the pests in an area from causing unacceptable injury or
harm. action thresholds vary: sometimes one pest is too many (like
a rat in a food processing facility). Thresholds help producers and
applicators weigh the cost of pest control against the cost of a
pest infestation
what is monitoring and how is it important to a sound pest control
strategy? Ans: — regular checking or scouting for pests in a
designated area. Monitoring will tell you what pests are in an area,
how many are in the area, and how much damage they are causing.
it will help determine if the pest population has reached the
treatment threshold and whether control measures have worked.
what is the difference between prevention, suppression and
eradication of a pest? Ans: — prevention means reducing the
chances that a pest will become a problem. suppression means
reducing pest numbers or damage to an acceptable level.
Eradication means destroying an entire pest population.
how could you prevent a pest infestation? Ans: — plant weed- and
disease- free seed, choose plants resistant to diseases and insects,
and practice good sanitation. other preventative techniques
include excluding pests from the target area and using pre-
emergent herbicides to kill weed seeds.
briefly define IPM (integrated pest management) Ans: — Integrated
Pest Management is an ecological approach to pest control. it is
based on the habitat and life-cycle of the pest. IPM combines
chemical and nonchemical methods into a single plan or strategy.
the goal of an IPM program is to reduce pest populations to an
acceptable level in a way that is practical, cost-effective, and safe
for the environment as well as human health.
Give several reasons to use IPM rather than using only a pesticide.
Ans: — IPM programs:
1. often ensure better success at the treatment site
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 4 | Page
2. promote a more balanced ecosystem and are more
environmentally friendly
3. are less likely to lead to pesticide resistance and secondary pest
outbreaks
4. may reduce pesticide use and can help protect beneficial insects
5. are often more acceptable to the public.
name at least 5 basic steps in an effective IPM program Ans: — 1.
idnetify pest
2. monitor the pest
3. decide whether control is justified
4. determine a pest control goal
5. know what control tactics are available
6. evaluate the benefits and risks of each tactic
7. choose the most effective strategies that will cause the least
harm to people and environment
8. use each tactic correctly
9. observe all applicable local, state, and federal regulations.
10. record and evaluate results
name 5 IPM elements Ans: — host resistance
biological control
cultural control
mechanical and physical control
and chemical control
what is host resistance? Ans: — the ability of a plant to withstand
pests
© 2025 All rights reserved
Virginia Commercial Pesticide Applicators
CORE exam Questions and Correct Answers
Explain the difference between key pests, occasional pests and
secondary pests Ans: — Key pests are nearly always present and
require regular control. occasional pests are migratory or cyclical
and require intermittent control. secondary pests require control
only under certain conditions, such as the elimination of a key
pest or the absence of a natural host.
what should you do first if you see damage to a plant, animal, or
valuable product/ Ans: — identify the cause
what should you do first if you discover a pest that may need to be
controlled? Ans: — make sure the pest is actually responsible for
the damage. then accurately identify the pest
how can pest identification help you develop a good pest control
strategy? Ans: — it allows you to determine basic information
about the pest, including its life-cycle and when it is most
susceptible to control measures.
name the 5 basic pest groups Ans: — weeds, parasites and
diseases, mollusks, arthropods, and vertebrates.
why do weeds present such a challenge to pest managers? Ans: —
weeds are often hardy, aggressive, and tolerant of harsh
conditions. many produce large numbers of seeds which can
spread over a wide area and remain dormant for a long time.
how can you tell a monocot from a dicot? Ans: — monocots
(sedges and grasses) have one cotyledon, parallel leaf veins, flower
parts in multiples of 3 and fibrous roots. Dicots have 2 cotyledons,
broad leaves with netted veination, and flower parts in multiples
of 4 and 5 and usually have taproots.
name the pathogens that cause most plant and animal diseases
Ans: — fungi, bacteria, mycoplasma, and viruses
what are the symptoms of viral plant diseases Ans: — stunting,
yellow rings on leaves, wilting, and mosaic patterns
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 2 | Page
how do plant parasitic nematodes harm plants? Ans: — by
attacking the roots, stems and leaves. nematode root feeding
interferes with a plants ability to take up water and nutrients.
infected plants wilt and seem to be suffering from a lack of water
or nutrients.
how do mollusks harm plants? Ans: — by feeding on foliage and
fruit. mollusks reduce the value of commercial produce if they
feed on harvested plants and fruit.
what are arthropods? how do they differ from vertebrates? Ans: —
arthropods are animals with segmented bodies and jointed
appendages. Arthropods have an external skeleton and may have
specialized appendages such as sucking tubes, chewing mouth
parts, antennae, and pincers. they have no backbones like
vertebrates
what is the difference between gradual and complete
metamorphosis? why is it important to know the life cycle stage of
an insect? Ans: — gradual metamorphosis includes 3 stages: egg,
nymph and adult. there is no pupa stage. complete metamorphosis
includes 4 stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. insects that develop
via complete metamorphosis change body form. larvae may not
look at all like adults within the same species.it is very important
to recognize the damaging stage for best treatment results. many
insect are pests in one stage but not another. especially larval
form.
what are beneficial insects? and why are they important to
agriculture? Ans: — insects that are pollinators (bees and
butterflies) or pest predators (ladybeetles and lacewings). with out
pollinators many types of plants could not reproduce and
beneficial predators feed on harmful insects, mites, and weeds.
how do mites harm plants? Ans: — They suck the plant juices, eat
the underside of leaves, and disfigure the plants they feed on.
what is an economic threshold? Ans: — the level at which
economic losses caused by pest damage, if the pest population
continued to grow, would be greater than the cost of controlling
the pests. reaching an economic threshold usually prompts some
kind of pest control action.
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 3 | Page
how are thresholds important to a sound pest control strategy?
Ans: — setting a treatment or action threshold is essential to
prevent the pests in an area from causing unacceptable injury or
harm. action thresholds vary: sometimes one pest is too many (like
a rat in a food processing facility). Thresholds help producers and
applicators weigh the cost of pest control against the cost of a
pest infestation
what is monitoring and how is it important to a sound pest control
strategy? Ans: — regular checking or scouting for pests in a
designated area. Monitoring will tell you what pests are in an area,
how many are in the area, and how much damage they are causing.
it will help determine if the pest population has reached the
treatment threshold and whether control measures have worked.
what is the difference between prevention, suppression and
eradication of a pest? Ans: — prevention means reducing the
chances that a pest will become a problem. suppression means
reducing pest numbers or damage to an acceptable level.
Eradication means destroying an entire pest population.
how could you prevent a pest infestation? Ans: — plant weed- and
disease- free seed, choose plants resistant to diseases and insects,
and practice good sanitation. other preventative techniques
include excluding pests from the target area and using pre-
emergent herbicides to kill weed seeds.
briefly define IPM (integrated pest management) Ans: — Integrated
Pest Management is an ecological approach to pest control. it is
based on the habitat and life-cycle of the pest. IPM combines
chemical and nonchemical methods into a single plan or strategy.
the goal of an IPM program is to reduce pest populations to an
acceptable level in a way that is practical, cost-effective, and safe
for the environment as well as human health.
Give several reasons to use IPM rather than using only a pesticide.
Ans: — IPM programs:
1. often ensure better success at the treatment site
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 4 | Page
2. promote a more balanced ecosystem and are more
environmentally friendly
3. are less likely to lead to pesticide resistance and secondary pest
outbreaks
4. may reduce pesticide use and can help protect beneficial insects
5. are often more acceptable to the public.
name at least 5 basic steps in an effective IPM program Ans: — 1.
idnetify pest
2. monitor the pest
3. decide whether control is justified
4. determine a pest control goal
5. know what control tactics are available
6. evaluate the benefits and risks of each tactic
7. choose the most effective strategies that will cause the least
harm to people and environment
8. use each tactic correctly
9. observe all applicable local, state, and federal regulations.
10. record and evaluate results
name 5 IPM elements Ans: — host resistance
biological control
cultural control
mechanical and physical control
and chemical control
what is host resistance? Ans: — the ability of a plant to withstand
pests
© 2025 All rights reserved
