Hiring a licensed pest control operator in Victoria

The department licenses individuals: people who run or work for a pest control business and use pesticides against insects and pest animals. So the check is on whoever arrives with the equipment, not only the business named on the invoice. The Better Health Channel’s checklist puts it the same way, asking you to confirm that whoever will apply the pesticides has a current Victorian licence.

Health Victoria says checking that a paid operator is licensed matters because it shows they have attained an appropriate qualification. The Better Health Channel describes that qualification as training in the safe handling, storage and application of pesticides, and in identifying and managing pests.

The licence is a photo ID issued by the Department of Health. The register gives each current operator’s name and licence expiry date. The department’s page links to the register search.

A licence lets its holder use only the pesticides or classes of pesticide it names, and those depend on the kind of pest control work the holder is qualified to do. Three kinds of job at a business premises need a particular authorisation on the card:

• Timber pests. The general authorisation comes in two forms, and only the one that includes timber pests covers them. The regulations define timber pests as pests that attack, infest or destroy timber or timber products.
• Pest animals at a commercial building. Using pesticides to control an established pest animal, such as a rabbit or fox, to protect an area in a building used for commercial purposes needs a licence with the pest animal authorisation.
• Fumigation. Fumigants have their own authorisation. The fumigation guide explains where a business is likely to meet one.

Rodents, and other pests that are neither pest animals nor timber pests, sit within either form of the general authorisation. The department reminds operators that these authorisations are about the type of work, not the chemical class of the pesticide.

Whatever the authorisation, the Better Health Channel says a licensed operator should identify the pest and its habitat, work out a pest management plan, apply, handle and store pesticides safely, explain the pesticides they use, and answer your questions.

1. Before the day

   Ask what will be used

   The Better Health Channel suggests asking for the full chemical name of the pesticide, because in an emergency it helps with first aid. The department says operators should tell clients the pesticide’s full name and toxicity rating, its potential health risks, how and where it will be applied, the re-entry period if it is used indoors, and what the client can do before and after to reduce exposure. Raise any concern about pregnancy, young children or allergies before work starts.

2. Getting the kitchen ready

   Protect food and surfaces

   Victoria’s food safety site says that when a licensed pest controller is hired, food and surfaces should be protected from chemical contamination. The department’s cockroach guidance for operators says food-handling surfaces must not be treated, and cupboards and pantries should be emptied first.

3. On the day

   Who is applying it

   A trainee may use the pesticides on their licence only under the supervision of someone with a fully qualified technician licence. Every licence holder must apply chemicals according to the label’s directions and hold current Safety Data Sheets for the chemicals they use. Those sheets are the document to ask about if you want the detail of a product.

4. After

   Reopening and the paperwork

   The Better Health Channel says to stay away while the pesticide is mixed and applied and until it is dry, generally four to six hours, with the operator advising the right time for the treatment used; if it was applied indoors, clean benchtops and kitchen utensils thoroughly before preparing food, and air the premises by opening doors and windows for a few hours when you return. The operator keeps a record of every application on every job. Your own visit log is in the plan guide.

The Better Health Channel names a different body for each kind of concern.

For the department, a breach of a licence condition is an offence, and it investigates potential breaches. Its possible responses range from a formal warning or an infringement notice to added conditions, cancelling the licence, or prosecution.