Glenn Jones Retires After Career Built on Trust

By Marie Kennedy, The Mountain Times

When Mount Hood-area residents discovered mice in the kitchen, carpenter ants in the walls, or yellow jackets overhead, many of them called Glenn Jones.

Glenn, owner of Oregon Insect and Rodent Control, is retiring this fall after more than two decades in the pest control business. Although he is closing the company and has already stopped taking some types of work, he said retirement will not end the relationships he has formed in the community.

“I know a lot of people up here,” Glenn said. “I call and check on them.”

Glenn started his company in August 2004 after working for several larger pest control companies. He believed he could offer customers more personal service while avoiding unnecessary treatments and expenses.

His work took him throughout Gresham, Sandy, and the Mount Hood corridor. But effective pest control often requires more than traps or bait. With rodents, Glenn said, one of the most important steps is “exclusion” – finding and sealing the openings that let them into a building.

“You’ve got holes in the wall,” Glenn said, describing what he sometimes tells property owners. “These things are coming through the wall. Let’s start with the holes. That’s your problem.”

If repairs were beyond the work he could perform, Glenn connected customers with contractors he trusted.

“I never leave them empty-handed,” he said.

That network included a longtime friend, contractor and crawl space specialist Glenn simply calls “Mr. Cruz.” Glenn began recommending Cruz after seeing the quality of his work.

Cruz later offered to restore the crawl space beneath Glenn’s own home without charge. When Glenn questioned the offer, Cruz reminded him how much business the referrals had brought him.

“You are feeding my family,” Glenn recalled him saying.

For Glenn, the exchange represented the kind of reciprocity he valued throughout his career. He checked contractors’ work, brought them food and helped capable workers build their own businesses.

Glenn credits Joe, the former owner of Affordable Pest Control, with teaching him how to operate a business of his own. Joe died at age 70, about six months after retiring – a loss that stayed with Glenn as he considered his own retirement.

But Glenn said some of the most important lessons that shaped the way he conducted his business came much earlier.

Glenn has been sober for 37 years. He credits several strong mentors with helping him rebuild his life in recovery through what he describes as “hard love.”

They challenged him when his words and actions did not match and taught him that honesty, responsibility and keeping his word mattered. Glenn remembers one of them catching him casually giving the time from a watch that did not even work – a small moment that forced him to confront habits he was trying to leave behind.

Those lessons became central to the way he lived, ran his business and treated his customers, particularly older residents. Glenn said his grandparents helped raise him, leaving him with a lasting connection to seniors. Sometimes that meant quietly doing work for someone who could not easily afford it.

“You never know when it’s going to come back tenfold for you,” he said.

His direct manner could catch people off guard, but customers knew he would tell them what he found, what needed to be done, and what did not. He declined work when he could not guarantee the result and resisted selling services he did not believe a customer needed.

That honesty helped turn customers into friends.

At home, Glenn has 110 thank-you letters and cards from people he has helped over the years. He has saved every one.

The letters have taken on particular meaning as retirement approaches. Glenn said Beverly sometimes reminds him of them when one unhappy customer or difficult situation weighs too heavily on him. The notes remind him how many people valued his work and friendship, and Glenn said he now feels that care coming back.

“I’ve had tears on the phone with different clients,” he said. Talking about his mountain friends brought tears to his eyes again.

Glenn had a long list of dear friends and customers he wanted to mention by name – far more than could fit in one story.

His years working on the mountain allowed him to watch families change. He saw children grow up, dogs come and go and longtime customers move into new stages of their lives. People called not only about pests, but also when they needed a dependable contractor, advice about a home or help figuring out what to do next.

Now Glenn is directing customers to Derik Farlow of Mount Hood Pest Control and winding down the administrative side of his company. He expects to remain available for occasional consultation.

But retirement is also about Beverly. Glenn said his wife stood by him through years of long workdays and weekends when the business demanded his time. One of the things he is looking forward to most is simply spending more time with her.

He also plans to remain involved with Lions Club activities and attend events in the Mount Hood community, where he expects to keep seeing many familiar faces.

For Glenn, the reputation he built came down to something more lasting than any particular treatment or service.

“People trust you, and they take your word,” he said. “Your word means your word.”

As he prepares to close the business, Glenn wanted to leave his customers with a message of his own.

“It has been an honor to serve your homes and businesses and earn your trust and friendship,” he said. “Many of you will be lifelong friends, and with others, I hope our paths cross again. Many blessings to you all.”