How to Screen Pest Control Technicians: 9 Questions and What to Listen For Screening Interview Template

What kind of pest control have you actually run: residential route, commercial accounts, termite, mosquito, wildlife? How many stops did you do in a day, what state did you hold a license in, and which categories were on it? Were you running your own truck or riding with someone?

What this assesses: This is the fit question and almost nobody volunteers the numbers. Strong answers are precise: twelve to eighteen residential stops a day on recurring service, or four commercial accounts including a food plant with a sighting log, plus the state and the categories on the license, whether that is general household pest, termite and wood-destroying organisms, or turf and ornamental for mosquito work. Those are different licenses and different jobs. A tech who has only run quarterly perimeter service on new construction has never worked a roach infestation in an occupied unit and may never have pulled a crawlspace hatch. Do not assume a license transfers, since reciprocity between states is uneven and your candidate may need to sit the core exam again on your timeline. Ask who held the certification they worked under, because in most states a registered technician or apprentice works under a certified applicator and may never have been the name on the ticket. Be cautious with a candidate who sold pest control door to door and serviced on the side, since the summer sales model produces resumes that read like route experience and are not.

A customer calls about German cockroaches in a two-bedroom apartment. Walk me through your first service from the time you knock on the door. What do you look at, what do you ask, and what do you actually apply and where?

What this assesses: This is the equivalent of the parts-changer test, and it is the most predictive question on the list. Strong answers inspect before they treat: how long has it been going on, where are they seen and at what time of day, do the neighbors have them, has anyone sprayed a store product already. Then they go to the kitchen and the bathroom, pull the stove and the refrigerator, check motor housings, under the sink, cabinet hinges, and the dishwasher, and read the fecal spotting and egg cases to judge how old and how large the population is. Treatment follows the inspection: gel bait in many small placements at harborage rather than a few large ones, a growth regulator where appropriate, monitors, a real conversation about sanitation and clutter, and a follow-up scheduled about two weeks out, because baits take time and one service does not clear a German roach population. Weak answers spray baseboards and the perimeter, which for this pest is close to useless and tends to scatter them. The clearest red flag is a tech who would apply a repellent residual over gel bait placements, since that kills the bait's performance and tells you they learned a routine rather than a method.

Tell me how you mix. Where do you get the rate, what do you check before you load the tank, and what do you do when the label and the way your branch has always done it disagree?

What this assesses: The answer you want is that they go to the label every time and can say why. The label is the enforceable document, not branch habit and not what the last tech did. Strong answers describe a real sequence: find the rate for the target pest and the specific site, because the same product carries different rates for indoor crack and crevice versus an exterior barrier, work out concentrate per gallon of finished solution, check the maximum rate and any annual limit, read the PPE line and the re-entry interval, then mix what the route needs instead of carrying a hot tank all week. They name PPE specifically, meaning chemical-resistant gloves, eye protection, long sleeves, and a respirator for anything applied in a confined space. They also know what to do with a spill and what rides in the truck versus what does not. Be cautious with anyone who recites a dilution from memory and never mentions checking, and be very cautious with any version of we always run it at this rate because that is what the branch does. The phrase you are listening for is that the label is the law. The behavior behind it is a tech who will stop and read one in front of a customer rather than guess.

What goes on a service ticket after you treat, and what do you write down that the customer never sees? Have you ever serviced an account that got audited, and what did the auditor ask for?

What this assesses: Application records are a legal obligation, not a receipt, and most states require you keep them for a set period, commonly two years. Strong answers list the elements without being prompted: date, product name and EPA registration number, rate and amount applied, target pest, the specific areas treated, and who applied it. Then they describe what they write for themselves and the next tech, which is the part that actually protects you: conditions found, the exclusion point they could not fix, the station that was tampered with, the unit that refused entry. On commercial food accounts, listen for the service binder or digital log, a station map with numbers that match what is on the wall, trending on the sighting log, and current SDS and product lists, because that is what an auditor asks for. Weak answers describe the ticket as proof of a visit. That tech will hand you an audit finding, or leave you with nothing when a customer claims you treated a surface you did not. Pay attention to whether they document a refusal or a skip, since a tech who marks a unit serviced that they never entered is a liability you will not find until it has compounded across a whole property.

A customer calls two weeks after your service and says they are still seeing ants. You are in the truck, the route is full, and the retreat is free. What do you do, and what do you do differently the second time?

What this assesses: Callback rate is the real quality metric on a route, and this question separates techs who re-inspect from techs who reapply harder. Strong answers start over: identify the species, because odorous house ants, carpenter ants, and pavement ants call for different approaches and a carpenter ant callback usually means a moisture source and a nest nobody found. They look for the trail and the entry point, check for a satellite nest or a food source they missed, and ask what changed, including whether the customer power-washed the perimeter or sprayed a store product over the treatment, which happens constantly. They also know that spraying a repellent on an odorous house ant colony can bud it into several colonies and make the problem worse. The customer half matters too: acknowledge it without arguing, give a realistic timeline instead of promising none by Friday, and get it on the schedule that week rather than letting it age. Weak answers blame the customer or describe applying more product in the same places. A tech who quietly lets callbacks slide will show up in your cancellation rate long before anyone connects it to them.

Tell me about a house you walked into that you were not comfortable treating. What was going on and what did you do? Include how you handle pets, small children, and a customer who did not do the prep for a bed bug job.

What this assesses: This is the judgment question, and it matters because the tech makes this call alone with the route clock running. Strong answers describe something real: a hoarding condition with no way to reach harborage, a bed bug job where nothing was bagged and the beds were still made, a dog nobody secured, an infant in the room they were asked to treat, a crawlspace with standing water or open wiring. The decision you want is that they stopped, explained why, documented it, and called the office instead of treating around the problem to stay on time. On pets and children, listen for asking before walking in, getting animals secured, covering aquariums and shutting off the pump, stating the re-entry interval and meaning it, and refusing to treat a surface the label prohibits even when the customer asks. On failed bed bug prep, the honest answer is that a treatment over bad prep usually fails and you own the retreat, so reschedule or treat partially and document it. Be cautious with a candidate who has never turned anything down. Either they have not been in enough homes, or they treat whatever is in front of them.

What is the worst physical part of this job for you? Roughly how many crawlspaces and attics did you do in a typical summer week, and can you be clean-shaven for a respirator fit test? Separately, tell me about your driving record over the last three years and how you feel about a 6:30 start, Saturdays in the spring, and 50-plus hour weeks from April through August.

What this assesses: Ask this plainly and ask it early, because it is the largest single source of 90-day turnover and of offers that die at the background check. Candidates who have done the work answer the physical half with specifics: an attic in July runs well past 120 degrees, which is why you go up at seven in the morning, an 18-inch crawlspace means going in on your side, a full backpack sprayer is north of 40 pounds for an eight-hour day. They describe how they manage it rather than claiming it does not bother them. The respirator question is not a trick. OSHA does not permit facial hair where the seal meets the face, so a candidate who will not shave cannot do part of the job, and learning that now beats learning it after you have paid for training. On the MVR, get the actual record rather than a yes, since fleet insurers routinely decline a driver for a recent DUI or reckless, or for a pattern of violations, and many will not write a driver under 21. Name the real spring hours and the Saturday rotation out loud. Some people will select out, which costs you nothing today and saves you a route in May.

Part of this job is spotting work the customer does not know they need, like a termite inspection, mosquito service, or exclusion on a rodent job. Tell me about the last time you did that. What did you find, how did you raise it, and what did the customer say?

What this assesses: Most route pay plans carry a production or commission component, so state your comp structure plainly in the posting and then find out how the candidate actually operates. The answer you want is anchored to something they found during an inspection: mud tubes on a pier, soil-to-wood contact or a leaking hose bib as a conducive condition, a gap under a garage door wide enough to roll a pencil under, standing water behind a shed. They show the customer the thing, explain the consequence in plain language, quote it, and then leave the decision alone. Weak answers describe a pitch with no inspection behind it, which is what generates complaints and cancellations three months later, or a flat refusal to mention anything, which means your revenue per stop never moves. The middle you are looking for is a tech who sells because they looked, not one who looks for things to sell. Be cautious with a candidate out of a door-to-door background who describes the add-on entirely in closing language and never mentions what they found.

Why are you leaving your current route, and what would make you turn this job down if we offered it tomorrow?

What this assesses: The second half teaches you more. Honest answers are concrete and usually about route design or pay mechanics rather than the work itself: stops packed too tight to inspect properly, a commission plan that changed mid-season, a branch that pushed them to close out services they did not perform, 90 minutes of unpaid drive before the first stop, no path to the termite license. All of those are checkable against your own operation, which is the point of asking. On the turn-down, people will tell you the truth if you ask directly, and what comes back is a pay floor, a commute, a Saturday rotation they cannot cover, or a start date they cannot hit because of notice. Be cautious with nothing comes to mind, which usually means they have not thought about it and will accept and keep interviewing. Listen last to how they talk about their old branch manager and their old customers, because this is someone who will be alone in people's homes all day with nobody watching, and the bar is whether you would put them in your own house.