General Pest Management Course

It's a nationally accredited course covering three units from the Certificate III in Urban Pest Management: CPPUPM3005 Manage pests without applying pesticides, CPPUPM3006 Manage pests by applying pesticides, and CPPUPM3018 Maintain equipment and pesticide storage area in pest management vehicles. When you're assessed as competent, you receive a nationally recognised Statement of Attainment for all three units.

You'll learn to inspect homes and businesses for pests, identify them, and manage them both with and without pesticides. Topics include integrated pest management, pest biology, inspection techniques, hygiene and proofing methods, pesticide selection and modes of action, labels and safety data sheets, calculating and mixing, sprayer calibration, baits, dusts, gels, granules and space treatments, and setting up a safe, legal storage area in your vehicle.

Ants, cockroaches, rodents and spiders, plus bed bugs, bees and wasps, birds, fabric pests, fleas, flies, mites, occasional invaders such as millipedes and springtails, psocids (booklice) and stored product pests. You'll also learn to recognise signs of termites and what to report. Treating termites is covered in our Timber Pest Management course.

People starting a career as a pest management technician, and anyone working in the industry who needs these units for a licence.

You must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident. You also need a work placement with a supervising pest management business, arranged before you enrol. There are no prerequisite units.

Yes. You must complete your practical work under the supervision of a licensed general pest technician, and you need to arrange your supervisor before enrolling. If you don't have one, we can refer you to affiliated pest companies in capital cities. Supervision through an affiliated company costs $1,200 + GST, paid directly to the pest company. This isn't included in the course fee.

Online and self-paced through our learning platform. There are no classes or timetables, so you can study whenever suits you.

About 100 hours of learning. You have 6 months from enrolment to complete the course.

No. The learning platform walks you through each module and is easy to use. You'll need a computer or tablet with internet access, and a phone or camera for photo evidence on the job.

Yes. Each unit has a downloadable learner guide with the same content as the online modules, so you can read it offline or keep it handy at work.

Yes. Our industry-qualified trainers are available to help through the learning platform, you can call us during normal business hours on 1800 248 249 .

You complete 20 general pest jobs at separate residential or commercial properties under supervision: 10 managing pests without pesticides (CPPUPM3005) and 10 managing pests with pesticides (CPPUPM3006). Across each set of 10 you must manage ants, cockroaches, rodents and spiders plus at least four other pest types, and prepare a pest management plan for every job. Your pesticide jobs must include bait stations, an electric duster, a hand puffer, a pump-up sprayer and at least one space treatment.

For each unit, you record 7 premises in your logbook with documents and photos, and your supervisor validates them. Your assessor observes the other 3, in person or by live video. Together, the three observed jobs must cover ants, cockroaches, rodents and spiders.

You set up, stock and manage the pesticide and equipment storage area in a pest management vehicle, and record it in an evidence workbook with photos, stock records, labels and checklists. Your supervisor validates the workbook, and your assessor has a short interview with you about your spill kit and equipment.

Each unit has an online multiple-choice knowledge assessment with a pass mark of 80%, plus the workplace evidence described above. Your assessor reviews everything and makes the final competency decision.

You'll see which topics to review, and you can go back over the modules and try again.

$1,495 if you pay upfront, or $695 upfront plus four weekly payments of $225. Supervision costs are separate (see above). Payment terms and our refund policy are in our Student Handbook.

Yes. These units are nationally recognised, so you need a USI before we can issue your Statement of Attainment. You can create one free at usi.gov.au.

Arrange your supervisor first. Then click Enrol on the course page, complete your details and payment, and use the link in your welcome email to log in and start.

The course doesn't issue a licence, but it can help you meet the training requirements to apply for one through your state or territory licensing authority. In Queensland, these three units are the competencies Queensland Health requires for a pest management licence for general pest work using pesticides. Other states have their own rules, so check with your licensing authority.

Add our Timber Pest Management course (CPPUPM3008 and CPPUPM3010) to move into termite inspection and treatment. You can also enrol in both together as our General & Timber Pest Management bundle and save $200.