Being a licensed pest control specialist opens doors. Many people simply won't hire a pest control professional who doesn't have an up-to-date license, and if you work for a larger business, you may be required to maintain your license to stay employed. A key part of maintaining your license is participating in regular continuing education courses. The length of time a certificate lasts depends on the state, but many states require pest control professionals to take at least two hours of annual CEU courses. While you can find physical locations that offer classes, you can also take online courses. Here are three reasons to consider this option.

No Commute Time

Pest problems can happen to property owners at any time, so many pest control professionals stay on call and work strange hours. When you are on call, you typically need to stay within a certain service area so you can respond to a call as quickly as possible. You may not be able to find a continuing education center offering classes in your service area, but rather than forgoing the benefits of taking an on-call shift, you can simply take an online course from anywhere. Without the added commute time, you can stay in your service area and calculate your travel times to customers as you normally would.

Flexible Class Schedule

Pest control professionals can have very different hours than other professionals. Depending on your location, property owners may require your services more frequently during the day or during the night. If you work in a major city, the majority of your appointments may be prescheduled restaurant maintenance jobs. Given the wide variety of schedules pest control professionals have, finding a class at a good time can be difficult. Online courses can be completely flexible. Many of them don't need to be completed in one sitting, and some of them include pre-recorded lectures, allowing participants to split an hour-long course into several 15- to 30-minute sections.

Inexpensive Courses

In-person continuing education courses are typically more expensive than online courses for several reasons. First, the school has to pay to use the facility where they teach their classes. Second, teachers have to be available to teach all of the classes in person, so they may charge more than online educators. Online courses solve these problems by offering courses that can be accessed anywhere and prerecording lectures from experienced pest control specialists. These courses don't skimp on quality, though. They will keep you just as updated and informed about new industry standards as any other course.

Look online to see where you can take online pest control CEU courses.