Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

• Fill sprayer tanks with water and chemicals, according to formulas.
• Record information about pesticide applications, such as the type used and amount applied.
• Mix pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides for application to trees, shrubs, lawns, or botanical crops.
• Start motors and engage machinery, such as sprayer agitators or pumps or portable spray equipment.
• Lift, push, and swing nozzles, hoses, and tubes to direct spray over designated areas.
• Establish driving routes for pesticide applications.
• Clean or service machinery to ensure operating efficiency, using water, gasoline, lubricants, or hand tools.
• Connect hoses and nozzles selected according to terrain, distribution pattern requirements, types of infestations, and velocities.
• Cover areas to specified depths with pesticides, applying knowledge of weather conditions, droplet sizes, elevation-to-distance ratios, and obstructions.
• Identify lawn or plant diseases to determine the appropriate course of treatment.
• Plant grass with seed spreaders, and operate straw blowers to cover seeded areas with mixtures of asphalt and straw.
• Provide driving instructions to truck drivers to ensure complete coverage of designated areas, using hand and horn signals.