Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation
Mix or apply pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or insecticides through sprays, dusts, vapors, soil incorporation, or chemical application on trees, shrubs, lawns, or crops. Usually requires specific training and state or federal certification.
27,050 people do this job in the US. $46,340 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 18%
- 0%
- 82%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 17%. Today's estimate: 18%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 12 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lift, push, and swing nozzles, hoses, and tubes to direct spray over designated areas.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 27% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Cover areas to specified depths with pesticides, applying knowledge of weather conditions, droplet sizes, elevation-to-distance ratios, and obstructions.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 22% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Establish driving routes for pesticide applications.Done daily by most who do it. | 11% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Mix pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides for application to trees, shrubs, lawns, or botanical crops.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 25 min13 min to 42 min | Stays with people | |
| Identify lawn or plant diseases to determine the appropriate course of treatment.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Fill sprayer tanks with water and chemicals, according to formulas.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 21 min13 min to 33 min | Stays with people | |
| Record information about pesticide applications, such as the type used and amount applied.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 13 min4 min to 21 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Connect hoses and nozzles selected according to terrain, distribution pattern requirements, types of infestations, and velocities.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 6% | 17 min8 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Start motors and engage machinery, such as sprayer agitators or pumps or portable spray equipment.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 8 min4 min to 13 min | Stays with people | |
| Clean or service machinery to ensure operating efficiency, using water, gasoline, lubricants, or hand tools.Done daily by most who do it. | 2% | 33 min17 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Plant grass with seed spreaders, and operate straw blowers to cover seeded areas with mixtures of asphalt and straw.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 0.9% | 1.7 h25 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Provide driving instructions to truck drivers to ensure complete coverage of designated areas, using hand and horn signals.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 0.2% | 33 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers0% now, 0% by 2028
- Agricultural Equipment Operators0% now, 0% by 2028
- Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators11% now, 11% by 2028
- Pest Control Workers27% now, 27% by 2028
- Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment3% now, 3% by 2028
- Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse4% now, 4% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).