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Which agency licenses Lawn & Ornamental pest control in Texas's structural program?
- The Texas Department of Agriculture, Structural Pest Control Service
- The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
- The county Cooperative Extension office
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation alone
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Lawn and ornamental pest control in Texas's structural program is licensed by the Structural Pest Control Service of the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA), under the Texas Occupations Code Chapter 1951 and the rules in the Texas Administrative Code, Title 4, Chapter 7. The TDA administers the General Standards exam and the category exams, including Lawn & Ornamental, and issues the applicator licenses. The environmental commission, the EPA, and Extension have other roles. Identifying TDA as the structural regulator is the foundation for Texas certification.🔗 Source
In Texas, the Lawn & Ornamental category authorizes the control of pests:
- Inside wood structural members only
- In and on turf, lawns, trees, shrubs, and ornamental plants
- In stored grain and commodities
- By the use of fumigant gases only
- In aquatic sites such as canals
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Texas's Lawn & Ornamental category covers the control of insects, weeds, diseases, and other pests in and on turf, lawns, trees, shrubs, and ornamental plants, the work of a typical lawn-care and landscape pest control operation. It is distinct from termite/wood-destroying work, commodity fumigation, and aquatic categories. An applicator must hold this category to treat turf and landscape ornamentals for hire. Matching the work to the correct category keeps a technician within the scope of the license.🔗 Source
What passing score does Texas require on its structural pest control examinations?
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Texas requires a score of 70% to pass each structural pest control examination, including the General Standards exam and each category exam such as Lawn & Ornamental. An applicant who scores below 70% on an exam must retake that exam. The threshold is not 65%, 75%, 80%, or 60%. Meeting the 70% standard on both the General Standards and the category exam is required before the license is issued.🔗 Source
To be licensed in Lawn & Ornamental, a Texas applicator must pass:
- The Lawn & Ornamental exam only, with no General Standards
- The General Standards exam only, with no category exam
- No exam if experience is documented
- The General Standards exam plus the Lawn & Ornamental category exam
- A federal EPA exam only
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Texas requires an applicator to pass the General Standards (CORE) examination plus at least one category examination - here, Lawn & Ornamental - to be licensed in that category. The General Standards exam covers laws, safety, and general practice, while the category exam covers the specific service area. Passing only one exam, relying on experience, or holding a federal card alone does not satisfy the requirement. The General-Standards-plus-category structure ensures both general and specialized competence.🔗 Source
In Texas, a business that performs structural pest control (including lawn & ornamental) for hire must:
- Do nothing beyond hiring workers
- Register only its service vehicles
- Obtain only a federal EPA number
- Get only a county permit
- Hold a business license for each business location and employ a responsible certified applicator
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Texas requires any business performing structural pest control for hire - including lawn and ornamental services - to hold a structural pest control business license for each business location and to designate a responsible certified commercial applicator. Simply hiring workers, registering vehicles, obtaining a federal number, or a county permit does not meet the requirement. The business license tied to a certified applicator is the core of operating legally. This links company authority to a qualified, certified individual.🔗 Source
According to Texas A&M AgriLife, which lawn is most associated with damaging southern chinch bug infestations?
- St. Augustinegrass
- Buffalograss
- Tall fescue
- Kentucky bluegrass
- Perennial ryegrass
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Texas A&M AgriLife's chinch bug guidance focuses on St. Augustinegrass lawns, the turf most associated with damaging southern chinch bug infestations in Texas. Chinch bugs use piercing-sucking mouthparts to feed on the grass, producing yellow-to-brown patches that often appear first in hot, sunny, water-stressed areas. Buffalograss, fescue, bluegrass, and ryegrass are not the primary chinch-bug host in this context. Knowing the chinch bug's preferred host helps a technician target scouting and treatment.🔗 Source
According to Texas A&M AgriLife, white grubs in turf are the larvae of which insects, and what is their characteristic shape?
- The larvae of chinch bugs, shaped like a coiled spring
- The larvae of May, June, and green June beetles, with a characteristic C-shape
- The adults of mole crickets, shaped like a cylinder
- The larvae of fire ants, shaped like a teardrop
- The eggs of armyworms, shaped like a sphere
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Texas A&M AgriLife describes white grubs as the larval stages of May, June, and green June beetles, and notes they are characteristically C-shaped with white bodies and tan-to-brown heads. These root-feeding larvae live in the soil and can damage turf by severing roots. They are not chinch bug larvae, mole cricket adults, fire ant larvae, or armyworm eggs. Recognizing the C-shaped white grub and the beetles it comes from helps a technician diagnose root-feeding turf damage.🔗 Source
Texas A&M AgriLife describes a soap-flush test for mole crickets. At what count is insecticide treatment generally considered?
- When a single mole cricket appears after an hour
- Only when more than fifty appear instantly
- When two to four mole crickets come to the surface within about three minutes after applying the soap solution
- Mole crickets cannot be detected by soap flushing
- Treatment is never warranted for mole crickets
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Texas A&M AgriLife describes dissolving liquid dishwashing detergent in water and pouring it over a measured area of turf to drive mole crickets to the surface; as a reference point, treatment in turfgrass is considered when two to four mole crickets surface within about three minutes. This soap-flush survey confirms that mole crickets, rather than another problem, are responsible for damage and gives a threshold for action. It is not a single-cricket-per-hour or fifty-at-once standard, and soap flushing does detect them. Using the soap-flush threshold supports a monitor-then-treat approach.🔗 Source
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