Technician Training

Who is a technician? A technician is a person whose job involves the use of pesticides, but who is not a certified operator or qualified supervisor.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture is very specific about the hours of training required for certain classes of pesticide application technicians. The CDA defines 3 classes of technician, with further subdivisions.

Follow the decision tree below to determine what type of technician training you need to provide; click on your choice for more information. Read the Definitions section before reviewing the tables below.

★ This tree was created with the information from the Colorado Department of Agriculture's Rules and Regulations Pertaining to the Administration and Enforcement of the Pesticide Applicators' Act.

Definitions (Top)

For the following tables, refer to the definitions below.

• Structural I: Includes the categories of Wood Destroying Organism Pest Control, Fumigation, and Residential/Commercial Pest Control
• Structural II: Includes the categories of Outdoor Vertebrate Control, Stored Commodities Treatment, Wood Preservation and Treatment, and Interior Plant Pest Control
• Classroom: Instructional training covering
  • State, Federal, and local laws and regulations
  • Environmental precautions
  • Pesticide use
  • Equipment and calibration
  • Pesticides and their families
  • Pest management
  • Applicator safety
  • Pesticide labels and labeling
  • Host and pest identification
  • Public safety
  
  
• Classroom Pest ID: Instructional training covering pest management and host and pest identificaion
• On-the-Job: Training provided while the technician is performing their duties. Some of this training (the number in parentheses) must be provided by a licensed QS or CO who has at least 1 season of pesticide application experience within the last 2 years.
• Discretionary: These hours may be divided between classroom instructional training and on-the-job training as needed.

Applicator Technicians (Top)

Category	Total	Classroom	Classroom Pest ID	On-the-Job	Discretionary
Agricultural	36	12		24 (8)
Turf	36	8	4	24 (8)
Ornamental	40	8	8	24 (8)
Turf & Ornamental	60	8	12	40 (16)
Structural I	160	32		120 (60)	8
Structural II	36	12		24 (8)

see an explanation of this table

New Hire Experienced Technicians † (Top)

Category	Total	Classroom	Classroom Pest ID	On-the-Job*	Discretionary
Agricultural	16	4		8	4
Turf	16	4		8	4
Ornamental	16	4		8	4
Turf & Ornamental	16	4		8	4
Structural I	32	16		16
Structural II	16	4		8	4

† Experienced sales technicians are not required to complete training in pesticide use, equipment and calibration, or applicator safety.
*All hours of on-the-job training must be conducted by a licenced QS or CO.
see an explanation of this table

On-Going Experienced Technicians (Top)

Category	Total	Classroom	Classroom Pest ID	On-the-Job	Discretionary
Agricultural	4				4
Turf	4				4
Ornamental	4				4
Turf & Ornamental	4				4
Structural I *	12	3			9
Structural II	4	4			4

*This training can be divided into a minimum of 2 hours per month over a period of 6 months. In addition, applicators must successfully complete a written examination prepared and given by the commercial applicator, which will show overall comprehension of the training.
see an explanation of this table

Sales Technicians (Top)

Category	Total	Classroom	Classroom Pest ID	On-the-Job	Discretionary
Agricultural	36	12		16 (8)	8
Turf	40	8	8	24 (8)
Ornamental	48	8	16	24 (8)
Turf & Ornamental	64	8	24	32 (8)
Structural I	160	32		120 (60)	8
Structural II	36	12		16 (8)	8

see an explanation of this table

Applicator and Sales Technicians (Top)

Category	Total	Classroom	Classroom Pest ID	On-the-Job	Discretionary
Agricultural*	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Turf	48	8	16	24 (8)
Ornamental	56	8	24	24 (8)
Turf & Ornamental	80	8	32	40 (16)
Structural I*	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Structual II*	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

*For these categories, there is no stated difference between applicators who are solely applicator or sales technicians and those who act in both capacities.

see an explanation of this table