# Pest Control Workers

> Apply or release chemical solutions or toxic gases and set traps to kill or remove pests and vermin that infest buildings and surrounding areas.

- **SOC code:** 37-2021.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-37-2021-00
- **Also known as:** Exterminator, Pest Control Technician (Pest Control Tech), Pest Technician, Residential Pest Control Technician, Certified Pest Control Technician, Commercial Pest Control Technician, Pest Control Applicator, Pest Control Chemical Technician
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Record work activities performed.
- Inspect premises to identify infestation source and extent of damage to property, wall, or roof porosity and access to infested locations.
- Recommend treatment and prevention methods for pest problems to clients.
- Post warning signs and lock building doors to secure area to be fumigated.
- Spray or dust chemical solutions, powders, or gases into rooms, onto clothing, furnishings, or wood, or over marshlands, ditches, or catch basins.
- Clean work site after completion of job.
- Drive truck equipped with power spraying equipment.
- Measure area dimensions requiring treatment, calculate fumigant requirements, and estimate cost for service.
- Study preliminary reports or diagrams of infested area and determine treatment type required to eliminate and prevent recurrence of infestation.
- Set mechanical traps, or place poisonous paste or bait in sewers, burrows, or ditches.
- Direct, or assist other workers in, treatment or extermination processes to eliminate or control rodents, insects, or weeds.
- Cut or bore openings in building or surrounding concrete, access infested areas, insert nozzle, and inject pesticide to impregnate ground.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Near Vision _(ability)_
- Customer and Personal Service _(knowledge)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Speech Clarity _(ability)_
- Writing _(essential_skill)_
- Speaking _(essential_skill)_
- Monitoring _(essential_skill)_
- Written Expression _(ability)_
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Time Management _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Social Perceptiveness _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Complex Problem Solving _(Common Skill)_
- Negotiation _(Common Skill)_
- Active Learning _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Intuit QuickBooks _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft SharePoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Database software
- Email software
- Marathon Data Systems PestPac
- Report writing software
- Supply inventory software
- Work scheduling software
- YouTube

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 31st percentile (Low) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 28th percentile (Low) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 34th percentile (Moderate) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 36th percentile (Moderate) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 56th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 4.9% growth (About average); 13.4k annual openings; 102.4k → 107.5k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $44,730; 96,110 employed.

## How people actually use AI here

Anthropic Economic Index — measured AI conversations mapped to this occupation's tasks:

- **Automation vs augmentation:** 46% automation, — augmentation (usage-weighted).
- **Autonomy median:** 3.0 (higher = AI acts more independently).
- **Dominant collaboration mode:** directive.

**Tasks most handed to AI here:**
- Recommend treatment and prevention methods for pest problems to clients. _(0.5% of measured AI use; directive)_

**Example prompts (honest phrasings of the tasks above — starting points, not endorsed instructions):**
- Help me recommend treatment and prevention methods for pest problems to clients.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-37-2021-00_