DARREN: BRANCH MANAGER AT LLOYD PEST CONTROL

BUILDING A CAREER, NOT JUST A JOB

Darren Jones didn't set out to build a 35-year career in pest control. There was no five-year plan, no leadership track laid out in front of him. Instead, his path started with a chance encounter, stalled for nearly a decade, and ultimately transformed only after he was forced to look in the mirror. Today, as Branch Manager at Lloyd Pest Control in San Diego, Darren's story is proof that the biggest obstacle to career growth in pest control isn't always the industry. Sometimes, it's yourself.

A FAMILY CONNECTION THAT PLANTED THE SEED

Darren's introduction to pest control came through family. His uncle Wayne owned a pest control company in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and both Darren's father and cousin worked for him. Darren, meanwhile, was working at a restaurant and later a butcher shop in San Diego when their monthly pest control technician started stopping by.

The technician seemed happy in his work, and one day he mentioned an opening at his company. Darren's boss wasn't interested but noticed Darren's ears perk up and gave him the go-ahead to check it out. That casual tip became the beginning of Darren's career with Lloyd Pest Control.

Back then, the industry looked very different. Darren studied from a book to earn his license, vastly different from the robust, structured training programs the company is known for today.

NINE YEARS AS A TECHNICIAN, AND A CAREER THAT STALLED

Darren quickly built a strong route as a technician, earning a healthy commission and generating consistent production. He had the skills to move up. But when it came to promotion, he ran into a wall of his own making.

"I wanted to be promoted, I had all these skills, I wanted to contribute, but I didn't want to take a pay cut to become a supervisor," Darren explains. He was open about his concerns, but that approach didn't help his promotion prospects, and the lack of progress left him discouraged.

By his ninth year in the industry, Darren knew something had to change. He didn't want to still be a technician at year ten.

THE CONVERSATION THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

Determined to figure out what was holding him back, Darren set up meetings with several managers and asked them directly what he was missing. Their answers were blunt.

One manager told him that, while he was talented, he could sometimes be difficult to work with. Another asked him a question that stuck: "You're grateful for what you have, aren't you? So why don't you act like it?"

It wasn't the feedback Darren wanted to hear, but it was the feedback he needed. He made the decision to change from the inside out, adjusting his attitude and approach rather than waiting for the company to change around him.

The shift worked. Darren was promoted shortly after, having proven that growth in this industry often starts with a mindset change, not a job title change. Today, he serves as Branch Manager, overseeing the operation he once worked as a technician.

A CAREER BUILT ON PERSPECTIVE

Looking back, Darren is candid about what held him up. "I stunted my own growth," he says plainly. His advice to anyone entering the field reflects that hard-earned lesson:

"Come at it as a potential career and then act accordingly. Invest yourself into it. Don't get caught up in making the dollar or the next step. Think of it as a relationship." 

That philosophy has defined the rest of his career. Darren married, raised three kids, and built a life around an industry that gave him the stability to do it. Thirty-five years later, he's clear on the takeaway:

"It's a career if you allow it to be." 

AN INDUSTRY OF ABUNDANCE, NOT COMPETITION

Darren also credits the broader pest control community for shaping how he leads. Through events like NPMA’s Academy, he's seen an industry built on collaboration rather than a scarcity mindset. "There's enough customers out there. We can work together as fellow companies, fellow tradesworkers, if you will, and create a great industry for people," he says.

That abundance mentality extends to how he views internal competition, too. "If you're in a good company, your biggest competitor is you."

HOW THE INDUSTRY HAS EVOLVED AROUND HIM

Darren has had a front-row seat to the professionalization of pest control. He remembers when the job was simply "you put the bug juice where the bugs go, and you kill bugs." Technicians would treat infested apartments and end up with cockroaches raining down on them mid-spray. Today, thanks to more targeted products and deeper scientific understanding, the work is far less invasive and far more precise.

That evolution mirrors his own growth. "The more you learn about the pest, its behaviors, and how to take care of it, the more of a professional you're going to be," Darren says. Technicians today can pursue multiple licenses, become instructors, and move up what he calls "the food chain of pest control."

ADVICE FOR THOSE CONSIDERING THE INDUSTRY

For anyone weighing a career in pest control, Darren's advice draws directly from his own hard-won lesson: growth rarely comes from waiting for the company to make the first move. It comes from investing in the work, being coachable, and treating the job like a relationship rather than a transaction.

"Endless opportunities," he says of where the industry can take someone willing to put in the work.

INSPIRED BY DARREN'S STORY?

Whether you're just starting out as a technician or find yourself stalled in your current role, Darren's journey is a reminder that the path to leadership in pest control is rarely linear, and the biggest breakthroughs often come from the hardest conversations.

Explore pest control careers and take the next step in your own journey at pestcontroljobs.com