STUDY FOR FREE: We are offering this course completely FREE* to anyone who enrols into our August intakes! Secure your spot while places last.
Kickstart your career with our hands-on, on-campus Pest Operations Level 3 programme. Train with industry tools and real-world field scenarios while building the practical skills to protect Aotearoa’s landscapes, ecosystems, and communities.
Course Details
Get ready to learn by doing. This practical programme is designed for people who want a hands-on career protecting Aotearoa’s landscapes, farms and communities. You’ll learn how to identify, monitor and control pests in real outdoor environments.
Working with industry tools and techniques, you’ll gain experience setting traps, assessing sites and handling pest-control substances safely. You’ll also build essential field skills, including navigation, communication, health and safety, and outdoor preparedness.
With guidance from experienced tutors, you’ll develop the confidence and practical skills employers value. Graduates will be ready for entry-level pest-operations roles or further training in conservation, biosecurity or environmental management.
Note: This programme does not include use of firearms.
You will learn:
To spot common pests across Aotearoa’s rural and diverse environments.
Trap setting training to set, check and maintain traps using industry-approved methods.
Essential outdoor survival and communication skills so you can work confidently in different environments.
How to safely handle and use chemicals and understand when they are appropriate for pest control.
Why pest management matters for our environment, health, and lifestyle.
Data recording and how to report pest activity, giving you skills that employers rely on.
Hands-on techniques through workshops and field activities, building real confidence for pest operations work.
How to safely use vehicles like 4WDs, quad bikes, and motorbikes.
Outcome
Upon successful completion of this programme, you will gain a New Zealand Certificate in Pest Operations (Level 3) – strand in Rural Pest Control.
Employment Pathways
Graduates of this qualification may be employed in a range of roles in Pest Control enterprises requiring limited supervision to identify pests and control methods, operate vehicles and monitor operations.
Duration
This programme runs for 18 weeks.
Academic: Open Entry
Other requirements: Learners must hold an appropriate vehicle licence if required to drive on the open road
Domestic students with ESOL: Must be proficient in English language.
This programme is currently only offered to domestic students.
Domestic Students:
Online Course Costs: $1,869 - FREE* for August intakes, while spots last.
Student Services Levy: N/A
* This course is offered at Zero Fees for August 2026 intakes and currently only available to domestic students.
Industry Focused Training
Proactive pest operations ensures a safer environment, and pest management and control in rural areas are designed to protect crops, livestock and the wider environment. Gaining a pest control certification will help make Aotearoa a better place for everyone.
What Will I Learn?
Upon completing this programme, you will understand how best to approach pest control and pest monitoring in both urban and rural environments. The skills you will gain will include identifying and controlling hazards and pest identification. You will also learn how to use poisons and traps safely and how to use a vehicle securely when on the job.
There are sections around the biology of pests and professional communication processes in the industry, and you will also learn some basic survival skills. This programme covers animal and plant pests in rural environments.
Pests in New Zealand
If you are looking at engaging with this course, it may help to understand what constitutes a pest here – read on to discover some information about common pests in New Zealand.
Possums
Possums have been seriously affecting the ecosystems in Aotearoa for decades. These animals are opportunistic omnivores, which means they can completely strip a native tree of leaves, fruit, buds and flowers. This negatively impacts the growth of the tree and the animals, birds and insects that rely on it for sustenance.Possums also eat native insects like weta, land snails, and they push native birds out of the area by nesting in trees. Possums have also been filmed eating the chicks and the eggs of endangered native birds – and they spread bovine tuberculosis.Keeping possum levels down is essential to the ongoing health of our natural ecosystems.
Gorse
Gorse is widespread throughout the country, affecting pasture, roadside verges, scrubland, forest margins and coastal habitats, reducing the area available for grazing by livestock on pasture and invading natural open spaces. With foliage that is prone to becoming very dry and susceptible to fire, it also fixes nitrogen in the soil and can lead to adverse effects on water quality.
Choose Land Based Training
This Land Based Training Course mixes theory and practice to provide an excellent foundation for a career in this industry.
Course Start Dates
Pest Operations (Level 3) FAQs
Hastings and Palmerston North Campuses.
This hands-on programme teaches you how to identify, monitor and control pests across Aotearoa’s rural environments. You’ll learn to set and maintain traps, assess sites, handle pest-control chemicals safely, record field data and use vehicles such as 4WDs, quad bikes and motorbikes. Firearms are not used in this programme.
You’ll gain practical, job-ready experience using tools and techniques found in the pest-control industry. You’ll also develop valuable field skills in navigation, communication, health and safety, and outdoor preparedness - helping you move into entry-level pest-operations work or further study in conservation, biosecurity or environmental management.
This course runs for 18 weeks full-time.
The cost of this programme is $1,869.
Yes! Working in the Pest Operations industry is not a requirement for this course.