- (301) 829-0060
- Mt. Airy, MD
- info@pestshieldinc.com
Pest Shield, Inc. (MDA #30263) has served Frederick County homeowners since 2011, with over 75 years of combined pest management experience across a team that includes on-staff entomologist Jeffrey Allwine — available for species-level identification when field confirmation matters. Troy Yowell, owner and lead technician, handles the majority of bed bug cases personally, and the company holds a 5.0 rating across 338+ reviews on Google and HomeAdvisor. Bed bug work is a bounded, defined service at Pest Shield, Inc. — the job isn’t considered complete until a follow-up visit confirms eradication.
How it works
Four steps. No surprises. Same answer whether it's your first call or your tenth.
You reach Troy or someone on his team directly. No call center, no dispatcher, no routing.
Same-day or next-day for most calls. Emergency stinging-insect situations and real-estate WDI deadlines get priority.
We identify the species, locate entry points, and find the source — not just the symptom.
Written recommendation, straightforward pricing, no obligation. If you don't need treatment, we'll tell you.
Bed bug infestations are easy to misread in both directions — some people dismiss early evidence as something else, while others mistake unrelated bites or debris for an infestation. Knowing what you’re actually looking for is the first step toward a clear answer.
Misidentification is common. Carpet beetle larvae, spider beetle frass, and bat bugs (which look nearly identical to bed bugs) are all documented sources of false alarms. If you’re not certain what you’re seeing, a free inspection by a professional — including species-level confirmation through Jeffrey Allwine when needed — is a faster and more reliable path to an answer than continued self-diagnosis.
Brunswick’s housing environment adds a layer of risk worth understanding. The city’s older rowhouses and multi-unit buildings near the downtown core and MARC station share walls, electrical conduits, and common areas — all documented pathways for bed bugs to move between units. A confirmed infestation in one unit in a connected building is a realistic risk factor for adjacent units, which is one reason pest control in Brunswick is more reliable than DIY approaches in dense housing. The MARC Brunswick Line is also a genuine vector: bed bugs are hitchhiker pests that travel in luggage, clothing, and secondhand furniture. Regular commuters and recent travelers are not at elevated risk in any alarming sense, but it’s an honest explanation for how an infestation can appear in a home with no obvious source.
60+ years of combined experience. Tell us what you’re seeing — we’ll come look, no obligation.
It was a horrible discovery when we realized we had brought bed bugs to our home from a hotel we had stayed in. I called Troy in an absolute panic and he was so kind, patient and helpful. He spent over an hour on the phone with me, educating me all about bed bugs and how to get rid of them. I called back twice more before he came to service our home because I was so upset and he truly helped ease my fears. When he came he was prompt, thorough, and professional. I also greatly appreciated how he scheduled a follow up to make sure the problem was taken care of. We were SO grateful with the new technology and spray Troy uses that was safe for our children and dog, left no smell, and completely eradicated the problem. Troy is honest, extremely kind, unbelievably knowledgeable, priced very fair, and more than capable of handling bug problems. We couldn’t recommend him more!
Alexandra Edwards · January 2023 Read on Google →
We hired Pest Shield despite the fact that their price was more than double some of the other companies I interviewed. The reason we did is because unlike the other companies, Pest Shield uses heat as a treatment. After doing my online research, I decided it was worth the extra money to do so. The first round of heat didn’t completely work – the next day, Troy from Pest Shield and I found live bed bugs in some of the blankets. Troy was true to his word, and reheated the upstairs for free and did additional treatments. It appears this second heat treatment was completely effective.
Marc Shiman · April 2014 Read on HomeAdvisor →
I had bed begs. Troy and his team got rid of them (so far). It has only been a few days but I was very impressed with the professionalism, honesty and expertise he provided to me. His pricing compared to his competitors was great as well! I was so impressed I referred him to my parents for termite treatment before he even did the treatment in my home. I would definitely recommend Troy and Pest Shield to others, and would hire Troy again in a second!
Alison Harris · November 2013 Read on HomeAdvisor →
General pest & rodent control
Pest Shield’s bed bug protocol is bounded and methodical — a defined treatment cycle with a confirmed endpoint, not an open-ended service relationship. Troy Yowell handles bed bug cases personally and is documented spending significant time educating customers before the first visit, including over an hour on the phone with one customer walking through bed bug biology and what to expect from treatment. That preparation matters: customers who understand the protocol tend to follow through on the steps that make treatment effective.
The process begins with a thorough inspection — mattresses, box springs, headboards, bed frames, baseboards, upholstered furniture, and any other likely harborage sites. Troy assesses the scope and distribution of the infestation before recommending a treatment approach. Two options are available:
Regardless of which treatment method is used, the protocol requires multiple visits. Bed bug eggs are resistant to most chemical treatments, and newly hatched nymphs from eggs present at the time of the first treatment will reach a vulnerable stage approximately two weeks later. A second visit — timed to that hatch window — addresses survivors and confirms that the infestation has been fully broken. In some cases a third visit is warranted. The job is not considered complete until a follow-up inspection confirms no active infestation.
Before treatment, Troy will walk you through specific preparation steps — what to launder and bag, how to position furniture, what not to move between rooms (moving items between rooms before treatment can spread bugs to unaffected areas). Following preparation instructions carefully is one of the most significant factors in treatment success.
Pest Shield uses EPA-approved products throughout. The bio-pesticide option is specifically documented as safe for homes with young children and pets, leaves no smell after application, and Troy advises on any precautions to observe around treated areas before and after the visit. For Brunswick households in multi-unit buildings, Troy can also advise on what to communicate to building management or adjacent neighbors — professional documentation of a treated infestation is often relevant in those situations.
Owner
Founded Pest Shield in 2011 after years as a pest management contractor on U.S. military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Around 35 years in pest management. Personally handles or leads the majority of service calls.
Pest Management Specialist
Field technician handling residential and commercial service calls across Frederick, Carroll, and Montgomery counties.
Pest Management Specialist
Field technician handling residential and commercial service calls across the service area.
Our Entomologist
Consulting entomologist on species identification, conducive conditions, and treatment strategy for difficult cases.
Brunswick is a small historic city in western Frederick County, situated along the Potomac River at the foot of South Mountain. The MARC Brunswick Line runs directly through town, connecting residents to Washington, D.C. and the broader commuter corridor. Pest Shield operates out of Mt. Airy and serves all of Frederick County — Brunswick is a direct service area, with no scheduling gap for customers in the city or the surrounding communities along MD-17 and US-340.
Brunswick’s older housing stock — including historic rowhouses and multi-unit buildings concentrated near the downtown core and the MARC station — creates specific conditions relevant to bed bug risk. Shared walls, common stairwells, and older construction with more interior gaps give bed bugs more pathways between units than newer single-family homes typically offer. The commuter rail connection is also a documented vector: bed bugs travel in luggage and clothing, and regular transit use is a realistic explanation for how an infestation can appear without an obvious source. Residents dealing with recurring pest pressure may also benefit from year-round pest control in Brunswick to address the broader conditions that make dense housing vulnerable.
Most bed bug infestations require two to three visits spaced approximately two weeks apart. The gap between visits is driven by biology: bed bug eggs are resistant to treatment, and newly hatched nymphs from eggs present at the first visit need time to reach a stage where they’re vulnerable. The second visit addresses those survivors and confirms the infestation has been broken. Pest Shield schedules a follow-up inspection as a standard part of the protocol — the job isn’t considered complete until that visit confirms no active infestation.
Yes. Pest Shield’s bio-pesticide spray option is documented as safe for homes with young children and pets, and leaves no residual odor after application. Troy advises on any specific precautions to observe around treated areas — typically a brief period before re-entry — and will walk you through those steps before treatment begins. EPA-approved products are used throughout. If heat treatment is the recommended approach for your situation, Troy will explain the re-entry timeline for that method as well.
For the bio-pesticide spray treatment, a temporary absence during and briefly after application is standard — Troy will give you specific guidance based on your home and the treated areas. Heat treatment requires vacating the treated space for the duration of the session. In both cases, Troy explains the re-entry timeline clearly before the visit so you can plan accordingly. Pets and plants should also be out of treated areas during application.
Preparation significantly affects how well treatment works. Troy will walk you through the specific steps for your situation before the visit, but general preparation typically includes laundering and heat-drying bedding, clothing, and soft items from affected rooms, then sealing them in bags; clearing clutter from around bed frames and baseboards to give the technician access to harborage sites; and — critically — not moving items from potentially infested rooms to other parts of the house before treatment, since that’s one of the most common ways bed bugs spread to previously unaffected areas. Troy’s pre-treatment guidance is thorough; following it carefully is one of the most important things you can do to support a successful outcome.
Pest Shield re-treats at no additional charge if the initial treatment doesn’t fully resolve the infestation — this is documented practice. In one confirmed case, Troy re-heated an upstairs area for free and applied additional treatments after live bugs were found following the first heat treatment session, and the second treatment was fully effective. The multi-visit protocol is designed with this reality in mind: follow-up visits are built into the service, not added on as an extra cost when something doesn’t go perfectly the first time.
