Beyond Bugs

Pest control company values family, hard work and community service

After serving in the Air Force, Jenner Blankenship came home to Kentucky in 1957 and went to work at Guarantee Pest Control in Bowling Green. He and his wife, Marie, continued to grow their young family, eventually having five sons and one daughter. In 1973, their middle son, Jimmy, got a summer job working alongside his father.

When his plans to play football at Western Kentucky University were permanently sidelined by an ankle injury during his senior year at Allen County High School, Jimmy turned that summer job into a career. Now, 53 years later, Jimmy is the owner of Blankenship and Sons Pest Control, the company he and his father founded in 1975. Through a later purchase, he also became the owner of Guarantee Pest Control, where the story began.

Putting family first

Jimmy recounts the early years of Blankenship and Sons with a smile. “In the beginning, it was just the three of us—me and Mom and Dad,” he says. “My parents were awesome. They had the greatest ability at raising six kids. Every one of us were different, so we all had to be tweaked a little different.”

That example provided an important road map as Jimmy grew into running a business with 20 employees. “If they are good, honest, hardworking people, you have to learn to adapt to what their personality is to some degree, which is what my parents did with us,” he says. “We have exceptional employees. We treat them like family because they are family.”

That familial atmosphere is reflected in the workplace each day. “We don’t have a time clock here,” he says. “You’re supposed to be on time. Sometimes you’re not. If you have children, sometimes they wake up sick. That’s just life. We make allowances for that, as long as when it comes to the customer and the service, that’s all perfect.”

Marie worked in the office until 2016. Although Jenner officially retired at age 62, he was still active with the company until he was 85. Jimmy’s nephew, David, joined the company in 2018 and was able to train with Jenner. While both Jenner and Marie are now gone, their legacy of dedication to family, the company and the community continues to influence those who knew them.

Changing times

Working alongside his parents taught Jimmy about the business of pest control and the importance of a strong work ethic. “The character of my parents was amazing,” he says. “Dad and I working together was just easy. I had enough respect for him that I didn’t question him. I did what he taught me because I knew he was right.”

Jimmy says he and his dad were never at odds about anything. Then he pauses and says, “except technology. Dad didn’t like technology. Mom did,” he says, recalling when his mom wanted a fax machine and he had to talk his dad into getting one.

Today, Blankenship and Sons is nearly paperless and runs on a strong NCTC internet connection, relying on computers and smartphones to communicate and document their work.

“Used to be, a technician would be out on a job and if he ran into something unusual that he’d never seen before, I would have to drive out there and look at it,” Jimmy says. “Now he will FaceTime me, show it to me. I do lots of identification over the phone. Technology makes that so great.”

Technicians can complete invoices on their phones, and all records are stored in the cloud. Recordkeeping is crucial in the pest control business because companies are reviewable by the Environmental Protection Agency as well as state and local governments.

Jimmy did make it to Western Kentucky University, just not in the way he originally planned. He conducts yearly training at WKU’s Agriculture Research & Education Center. The daylong seminar draws 150 to 200 technicians and features speakers from manufacturers in the pest control industry.

Serving others

Jimmy enjoys his work because it helps people. “We’re protecting their health. We’re protecting their property,” he says. “You know, there are a lot of people who would have had a lot of damage to their home from termites or had health problems due to insects and stuff like that if we hadn’t intervened.”

The team also serves the community in other ways, including hosting a lunch for first responders. “We have work family who are first responders,” he says.

Blankenship and Sons also runs a nonprofit called Be the Change, a project managed by employees Ashley Pardue and Taylor Cornelius, that focuses on the foster care system. It provides items for children who have been removed from their homes, often with none of their possessions.

“You have to give back to your community because that is where you make your living,” Jimmy says. “You need to give back and show appreciation for the support they give you.”

Blankenship and Sons Pest Control
425 Jenner Road, Adolphus, Kentucky
270-622-5321
blankenshipandsons.com

Guarantee Pest Control
860 Lain Ave., Bowling Green, Kentucky
270-842-4289
guaranteepestcontrol.com

Story by Laura McGill