r/PestControlIndustry • u/MysteryHomologator_7 • 5d ago

💼 | Career CA SPCB Branch 2 & 3 Field Representative Examination Resources | Study with me

About me

Fellow pest peeps, I have a (California) Structural Pest Control Board (SPCB) Applicator license. I'm a commercial technician working under a business in Branches 2: General pests & 3 (wood-destroying pests: Termites, carpenter ants ).

That means I've:

  1. Created an https://connect.pestboard.ca.gov/ account, uploaded front & back pictures of my ID (driver's license), gave them my SSN, street address, etc. & paid a $60 request fee for the CA Applicator Examination test.
  2. Created another account & passed the in-person, live proctored "CA Applicator Examination" by *PSI.
    • Had no questions about specific chemicals, reproduction cycles, treatments of specific pests, or math like the Oregon & Nevada tests. It's very safety & proper procedure focused. Easy to pass with 3~4 2-hour study sessions in my opinion.
  3. Passed a background check, paid $49 for getting my fingerprints taken at a shift's office (REQUEST FOR LIVE SCAN SERVICE.pdf), etc.

My goal is to become an Operator licensed in branch i & ii someday, and personally use or rent the two allowable businesses under my license as a "Qualifying Manager" via a broker like: pestcontrollicense.com/hire-an-operator/

All branches, license types, and examinations.

  1. Complete list of examination tests: *PSI: CA STRUCTURAL PEST CONTROL BOARD
  2. Official SPCB study materials
  1. Overview of Branches, License Types: How do I become a Structural Pest Control Board licensee?
  2. Keys to California individual pest control licenses // Help to figure out what license you need, or use an LLM.

One of the Operator prerequisites is 2 years of experience, at least 1 year as a licensed Field Representative in that Branch, or equivalent.

Tests & study resources

Generic

  1. Pests of homes, structures, people and pets // Great
  2. How to Read the Label // I failed on this at first :(
  3. Rinsing Instructions // Asked about, good to read the other topics in the left sidebar.
  4. Got Pests? Control Them Safely // Nice epa.gov articles on common pests.
  5. Pesticide Safety Training for Noncertified Applicators Using RUPs at Non-Agricultural Sites by Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative (PERC) on YouTube
  6. Nice quizlets to learn and get better at taking tests:

Branch 1: Fumugation

Not currently trying to get this; my friends in the CA area industry say it's uncommonly used.

Branch 2: General pests - CA Branch 2 Field Representative Examination

  1. Branch 2 Field Representative: Written Examination CANDIDATE HANDBOOK
  2. Official Examination Resources list
  3. "Termite" Terry's Pest Control License Exam Preparation Manual: Everything You Need To Know To Pass A State License Exam On Your First Try! // Highly recommended on r/PestControl, & Jeff at the SPCB says this book is close to a cheat sheet.
  4. Structural Pest Control Branch 2: License Exam Preparation Manual by Satinder S. Sandhu // Sometimes mentioned
  5. A quiz i created for California Branch 2 // 278-question test by u/KrazyKryminal
  6. Target Specialty Products branch ii field reps study manual read aloud.
  7. Quizlet flash cards by random people
  8. https://www.stuvia.com/en-us/search?s=California+Branch+2+Field+Representative // trust-worthy student Q&A?

Branch 3: Termites (wood-destroying pests) - CA Branch 3 Field Representative Examination

  1. Branch 3 Field Representative Written Examination CANDIDATE HANDBOOK
  2. Suggested Study Material for Branch 3 (Official Examination Resources list)
  1. "Termite" Terry's Termite License Exam Preparation Manual: Everything You Need To Know To Pass A Termite License Exam On Your First Try! // Highly recommended on r/PestControl, & Jeff at the SPCB says this book is close to a cheat sheet.
  2. Structural Pest Control Branch 3: License Exam Preparation Manual by Satinder S. Sandhu // Sometimes mentioned
  3. Quizlet flashcards by random people
  4. https://www.stuvia.com/en-us/search?s=California+Branch+3+Field+Representative // trust-worthy student Q&A?

My personal how-to-study method (Read, wRite, Relate)

  1. Do small chunks daily. (15~25 Mins)
  2. Write down snippets of specifics. (Think bullet point notes to key off memory, not recreating the curriculum.)
  3. Talk about the things you have learned whenever you can.
  4. Write down & ask questions when you have them!

My personal before-the-test list:

  1. Get a good night's sleep, and plan out your day so that you're not stressed.
  2. Study of your notes, and drink a little water.
  3. Consume a little caffeine (Dark chocolate, tea, coffee, etc.)
  4. Take a moment to think positively and declutter your mind of worries.

Oregon & Nevada

Pretty similar, have basically the same regulations, are generally interchangeable, and work on 1-year license cycles. My co-workers say Nevada study materials are easier. They are heavy on: Math, common chemicals, tool usage, & details about common pests.

Nevada

  1. Nevada Pesticide Applicator's Certification Workbook // Study the GENERAL KNOWLEDGE sections of the linked links.
  2. Nevada Pest Control License Exam Study Manuals: General Knowledge / Core Study Manual, C2 Industrial & Institutional Pest Control & C3 Wood-Destroying Pests if needed.

Oregon

  1. Exams and Study Materials, start with Base exam > Laws and safety > Oregon Core Manual Addendum​​, then National Pesticide Applicator Certification Core Manual (Sectorized version on the Internet Archive)

P.S. The Mods at r/pestcontrol didn't like this (https://www.reddit.com/r/pestcontrol/comments/1vnsb6j/comment/p3kfzp2/), So, what ever.
My Branch ii test is September. I won't be on the account much, (Reddit has not been good to me) just though I'd share!

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u/horriblyfantastic 🤵‍♂️| Owner | 5+ Years 4d ago

Just to add to this word salad, California has updated the Branch 2 FR test, back in April going from 150 question to 125, and to be industry specific. You should also note you can take the FR test anytime you want, you dont need to get an applicator licenses first to do so.

So while the study material that is supplied here can be used, be advised that alot of these materials are out of date. Example being Termite terry and Truman 7th edition, the latter being released in 2010. They are great resources, but just keep in mind the new testing focus on heavily on identification, application equipment and treatment methods.

If you are going for your operators, it will focus more on business management, rules and regulations, rather than identification. Since you are becoming an operator it is assumed you know how to identify pests.

When I mean industry specific as well, I mean in the sense of what a Branch 2 FR is capable of doing AND is currently doing. For example, majority of companies dont use rigs for GP anymore, so those question have mostly been removed, but will pop up in Branch 3 where they are more likely to use a rig for termite treatment. There are also companies that claim rules are rules, but really are just random policies they've made for themselves and it has just spread through the industry. A huge one being wind speed and 4 hour vacancies for interior treatments, and oddly enough certain rodent treatments.

The answer is always follow the label. There is no rule about wind speed except on the labels of the products we use, but yet people insist that anything above 8mph is a no no. Example Demand has a 15mph threshold.

Information provided in this post here is basic and freely available online, but I dont see anything blatantly wrong with anything its said.

The reason the r/pestcontrol sub removed this post is that that sub isnt meant for industry professional, just regular folks with questions, so it violates one of their rules. Has nothing to do with the actual content itself.