California has one of the strictest programs for the registration and use of pesticides in the United States. The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR), a department of the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) has the primary responsibility for regulating all aspects of pesticide sales and use to protect the public health and the environment. They are also responsible for enforcement of California pesticide laws. This includes the requirement of training and certification of pesticide applicators. For public health pesticides, CDPR has delegated training and certification to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), and the Vector-borne Disease Section (VBDS) of CDPH conducts periodic testing of new applicants for licenses for pesticide application as well as existing license holders.
Training materials for pesticide certification and re-certification are available on the VBDS website (VBDS Training) and also under this section. Included here are pesticide training manuals and other study materials, including practice quizzes in various forms.
Regulations from the California Department of Public Health concerning pesticide training and certification can be found here: Regulations
Category A covers the application of public health pesticides and the procedures and equipment needed to ensure the safety of applicators, the public, and the environment from adverse effects of such applications. Some of the topics in this category are descriptions of public health pests; classification of pesticides; pesticide labeling; first aid procedures for pesticide poisoning; protective clothing and equipment of pesticide applications; the use of pesticide application equipment, including calibration; and the handling of pesticide wastes. Chemicals used for weed control (herbicides) are also covered here.
There are three sets of questions in Category A. Each set covers subject areas in approximately the same order as they appear in the latest Category A training manual.
The subject areas covered are as follows:
Part I. Classification and formulation of pesticides, labels and labelling of pesticides, and toxicity of pesticides to humans.
Part II. First aid for pesticide poisoning, handling of pesticides, and protective equipment and clothing for applicators.
Part III. Pesticide equipment and calibration, pesticide application problems, handling and disposal of hazardous wastes, and the future of public health pesticides.
This manual is designed to help prepare government agency employees for testing for competence under Category A - Pesticide application and safety.
These study aids are designed to assist those looking to test themselves in the subject matter found in the latest Category A training manual.
Category B includes the classification and identification of mosquitoes of California, their biology and ecology, and the control of mosquitoes using modern methods that fall under strategies known as integrated pest management (IPM), or integrated vector management (IVM). Also included in this category are methods of surveillance for mosquitoes and public relations associated with mosquito control.
There are three sets of questions in Category B. Each set covers subject areas in approximately the same order as they appear in the latest Category B training manual.
The subject areas covered are as follows:
Part I: Mosquito biology and ecology, public health importance, and classification.
Part II: Principles of mosquito control, chemical control, physical control, and biological control.
Part III: Mosquito control in California, surveillance for mosquitoes and mosquitoborne diseases, and public relatilons.
This manual is designed to help prepare government agency employees for testing for competence under Category B - Mosquito biology and control.
These study aids are designed to assist those looking to test themselves in the subject matter found in the latest Category B training manual.
There are four sets of questions in Category C. Each set covers subject areas in approximately the same order as they appear in the latest Category C training manual.
The subject areas covered are as follows
Part I. Domestic flies (house flies and relatives).
Part II. Cockroaches.
Part III. Fleas, lice, and bedbugs.
Part IV. Spiders, ticks, and mites, and Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants, etc.).
This manual is designed to help prepare government agency employees for testing for competence under Category C - Invertebrates.
These study aids are designed to assist those looking to test themselves in the subject matter found in the latest Category C training manual.
There are three sets of questions in Category D. Each set covers subject areas in approximately the same order as they appear in the latest Category D training manual.
The subject area covered are as follows:
Part I. Biology of domestic rodents and rodent-borne diseases.
Part II. Control of domestic rodents.
Part III. Biology and control of oppossums, skunks, bats, birds, and poisonous snakes.
This manual covers vertebrates of public health significance, including domestic rodents such as roof rats and house mice, and also poisonous snakes and vertebrates such as ground squirrels that may serve as resevoirs for human disease pathogens. The manual is designed to help prepare government agency employees for testing for competence under Category C - Vertebrtes.
These study aids are designed to assist those looking to test themselves in the subject matter found in the latest Category D training manual.