Skills
Pest Control Technician Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in pest control technicians, and how to build and show them.
Pest Control Technicians need technical skills such as pest identification, integrated pest management, and pesticide application, plus people skills like customer service and independence. They also use tools such as Sprayers and dusters and Bait stations and traps.
Technical (hard) skills
- Pest identification
- Integrated pest management
- Pesticide application
- Label reading
- Exclusion and sealing
- Termite and bed bug treatment
People (soft) skills
- Customer service
- Independence
- Attention to detail
- Problem solving
Tools, equipment and technology
- Sprayers and dusters
- Bait stations and traps
- Flashlights and inspection mirrors
- Moisture meters
- Sealants and exclusion materials
- Route management apps
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how pest control technicians put their skills to work:
- How to inspect a restaurant for cockroaches
- How to read and follow a pesticide label
- How to seal rodent entry points
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “Pest identification” and “Integrated pest management.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “customer service,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as State commercial pesticide applicator license near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our pest control technician glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our Pest Control Technician training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.