Pesticide licensing isn’t the most straightforward process for a lot of people, and it doesn’t help that the material is drier than biscuits waiting for gravy. Over here at the extension office, we don’t want to keep you waiting for that gravy, we are here to help! I have fielded more than my fair share of questions from current license holders and aspiring applicators to know where to find the sources you need, and to proofread your ingredient list before you start baking. Do you have your flour? Your rosemary? Boric acid – oh wait, that’s for a different recipe!
If you are looking for reliable information on any of your questions regarding Restricted Use Pesticides (RUP’s), that is well within our capabilities, but not where we stop in our efforts. We also ensure to keep up to date with any changes happening within the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) that affect the realm of pesticides, as well as offer regular exam proctoring throughout the year. For more specifics, read on! But if you don’t feel like reading, call up the St. John’s County Extension office with your questions and ask for Ken.
You have questions, we have answers
Of the more common questions that we receive at the office are ones dealing with registering for exams. The first step is to figure out exactly which pesticide license you need. This is indeed a goldilocks dilemma to find the one that is just right. With a few probing questions though, we can narrow in on the right license for you. Then from there, the website is laid out in a clear manner with many helpful hints scattered throughout each page to guide you right up to the day you take your exam. Perhaps even after completing all of that, you still have a question or two? Again, don’t be bashful, because that’s what we’re here for! To provide answers to questions like,
‘Can we bring our own fumigation calculators for our PCO exam?’
‘Does my license from another state work in Florida?’
‘Can I take my scratch paper with me after I finish my test?’
Yes, no, and leave everything that you didn’t bring with you where you found them, please!
Take Your Exams Right Here at the Office
Need to schedule your exam? We’ve got you covered there! The St. Johns County Extension office offers pesticide exam proctoring on site twice a month, every 2nd and 4th Friday of the month for those taking their Chapter 487 license categories, and once a month every 4th Wednesday for Chapter 482 Pest Control Operator (PCO) licenses. With so many opportunities to get a test date picked out, setting up something in advance is painless, but if you still can’t find an ideal day to test, (or you need to test ASAP), you are always able to schedule to take your exam online from home via Everblue. You can find this option when you go to schedule your test date online, though one benefit of going through us here at the extension office is that our Chapter 487 exams are always free!
If you feel you might be missing pertinent study material, we’ll also be able to verify if you indeed have the right pesticide manual to take the exam. Some of these tests may also have other recommended study materials that need to be requested from the FDACS Pesticide Certification Section.
We try our best to keep up with the latest updates to testing and licensing from the Pesticide Information Office, (and they make it all the more accessible through their own blog!). One such update that we’ll keep reminding everyone that comes in for testing is that this in-person service isn’t going to be here for much longer… On October 1st of 2025, all in-person pesticide testing offered by extension offices throughout Florida will move either online or to licensed testing centers around the state. That won’t stop this office from being a resource for anyone seeking a pesticide license.
Written by Ken Cazarez, UF/IFAS Extension St. Johns County, Agriculture Program Assistant (k.cazarez@ufl.edu)