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These 10 free VA-PEST questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Virginia Commercial Pesticide Applicator Core Exam blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
During an outdoor application covered by the Worker Protection Standard, a ground sprayer releases medium droplets 10 inches above the soil. A field observer is 18 feet upwind, outside the treated area, and positioned so the spray cannot contact them. Under the Application Exclusion Zone size rules, what should happen next?
Correct answer: C - Continue; this method creates no AEZ by size, but the no-contact rule still applies
A Virginia commercial applicator holds current individual certification in the needed category and plans to treat customers' properties for compensation through a new company. Neither the applicator nor the employer has a Virginia Pesticide Business License. What authorization must the company secure before the first paid application?
Correct answer: A - The required Virginia Pesticide Business License
Scouting in a sweet-corn block finds 7 larvae per 100 plants. The program's action threshold is 10 larvae per 100 plants, and its economic injury level is 15. Weather and crop stage are unchanged, and no preventive treatment is due. How should the scout act on today's count?
Correct answer: D - Continue monitoring and initiate control at the action threshold
An insecticide has given progressively poorer control over three seasons. Application timing, coverage, weather, and labeled rate have been verified. The crew rotated among three brand names, but all carry the same mode-of-action group. What change directly corrects the rotation mistake?
Correct answer: B - Rotate mode-of-action groups and add nonchemical controls
A greenhouse vegetable label states: restricted-entry interval 24 hours, preharvest interval 7 days, and retreatment interval 14 days. An application ended on April 1 at 6:00 a.m., and no entry exception applies. Which date-time sequence is permissible?
Correct answer: A - Entry April 2 at 6 a.m.; harvest April 8 at 6 a.m.; retreatment April 15 at 6 a.m.
A pesticide label lists apples as an approved site but does not name the target leafhopper. The label does not restrict use to listed pests, and the proposed rate, method, timing, and all other directions remain within the label. How does FIFRA Section 2(ee) apply to this use?
Correct answer: D - It may be allowed under FIFRA 2(ee)'s unnamed-pest provision
A formulated pesticide has an oral LD50 of 600 mg/kg, a dermal LD50 of 2,500 mg/kg, and corrosive eye effects. No acute oral, dermal, or inhalation endpoint is Category I. What must appear on the front panel?
Correct answer: C - DANGER, without POISON or the skull-and-crossbones
A crew must mix a dry pesticide into water. Continuous agitation is available, and the applicator wants less airborne measuring dust than a wettable powder while still using a compact dry formulation. What formulation matches these handling goals?
Correct answer: B - Water-dispersible granule or dry flowable (WDG/DF)
At dawn, a pesticide label permits application at wind speeds from 0 to 10 mph but prohibits application during a temperature inversion. Wind is 1 mph, and smoke from a nearby burn hangs in a flat layer instead of rising. What does this field observation require?
Correct answer: D - Postpone until the inversion breaks and normal air mixing returns
Two labeled products are equally effective. Site A has sandy soil, low organic matter, a shallow water table, and heavy irrigation; Product A is soluble, persistent, and weakly adsorbed. Site B has clay-rich soil, a deep water table, and Product B is short-lived and strongly adsorbed. Where is groundwater-leaching risk greater?
Correct answer: A - Site A with Product A
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