- (301) 829-0060
- Mt. Airy, MD
- info@pestshieldinc.com
Pest Shield has been treating fly problems for Frederick County homeowners since 2011, licensed by the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA #30263) and led by a certified pesticide applicator (MD Certified #19058) with 35 years in the pest management industry. Our team brings more than 75 years of combined experience to every service call, including on-staff entomologist Jeffrey Allwine for species-level identification when field ID isn’t conclusive. We’ve been named Best of Frederick Pest Control (2021) and Best of Nextdoor four consecutive years (2021–2024), with 338+ five-star reviews across Google and HomeAdvisor.
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.
Flies indoors almost always mean a source nearby — and that source is rarely where the flies are landing. Killing the visible ones doesn’t fix the underlying condition. Frederick’s hot, humid summers extend fly pressure from late spring through early fall, and older homes across the county add structural entry points that make the problem harder to resolve without a proper inspection.
The first step is identifying which fly you actually have, because the source — and the fix — is different for each:
The frustrating cases are the ones where the source isn’t obvious — a moisture issue in a crawl space, a dead rodent in a wall cavity, a forgotten condensate line, or a gap in the foundation that’s letting flies breed in the soil underneath. Without locating the source, treatment knocks down the visible flies for a few days and the problem returns.
60+ years of combined experience. Tell us what you’re seeing — we’ll come look, no obligation.
Pest Shield has been absolutely wonderful! We had an issue with mice, and Pest Shield was the ONLY company we could get to come out to our house on the same day which happened to be a Sunday. The technician, Troy, was extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and honest. He saved my husband and I a lot of money. Most companies would have taken advantage of the situation. It’s been 30 days and we have not had any more issues. We were so satisfied with the company and the services we received, that we also signed up for the pest (bugs) control service last month. Since then, we have not seen any bugs (including those nasty centipedes and camel crickets)!!! Thank you so much, Pest Shield!!!!!
Myah Moxley · February 2015 Read on HomeAdvisor →
We chose Pest Shield after contacting a few different pest control companies because we liked how Troy took his time to explain his experience and the science behind the products he uses. Troy has been working with us to manage two separate infestations and he has been incredibly generous with his time, energy and expertise. After speaking with my husband, he offered to come out the same day and as he inspected the house, he offered useful suggestions for ways to manage other things like spiders in the windows. We have a young son who is immunocompromised and Troy was very respectful of the safety precautions that we are currently taking. We are so grateful for his knowledge, promptness and kindness.
Erin Swen · December 2021 Read on Google →
Troy was asked to do a simple pest inspection job. He was very professional, very prompt, thorough, and provided good service and cogent advice. Hire this guy. G.P.Krueger, Frederick, MD
Gerald Krueger · December 2013 Read on HomeAdvisor →
General pest & rodent control
Every fly call starts with a free inspection. Troy or one of our technicians comes out, identifies the species, and locates the source — that’s the part most fly treatments skip. If field identification isn’t conclusive, samples go to Jeffrey Allwine, our staff entomologist, for laboratory ID. We’ve found drain flies traced to a single basement floor drain, cluster flies entering through soffit gaps, and house flies breeding in a compost pile fifteen feet from a back door. The treatment plan only makes sense once we know what we’re treating.
Pest Shield‘s approach is exterior-first. We treat the perimeter to prevent flies from getting inside in the first place, rather than dousing your interior with chemicals. Once the source is identified and addressed, here’s how the service runs:
Flies are a recurring-pressure pest in Central Maryland, particularly through the humid summer. Initial treatment handles the active problem, but with agricultural land, wooded lots, and warm, wet weather creating constant outdoor pressure, most homes do better on our Standard Care Plan — bi-monthly exterior treatment every 60 days, more frequent than the quarterly cadence most companies offer. The plan carries a 100% effective guarantee: if pests reappear between scheduled visits, we come back at no charge. You don’t need to be home for treatment, and there’s no long-term contract holding you in.
All products we use are EPA-approved, and we have nontoxic bio-pesticide options available for homes with children, pets, or family members with sensitivities. If you’d rather we use the lowest-toxicity option from the start, just tell us — we’ll plan the treatment around it.
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.
Frederick sits in the Monocacy River valley between Catoctin Mountain and the foothills of the Blue Ridge, with I-70 and I-270 connecting the city to the broader Central Maryland corridor. The surrounding county mixes historic downtown housing, established suburbs, and working agricultural land — dairy operations, orchards, and crop fields all within minutes of residential neighborhoods.
That mix shapes the fly pressure here. Nearby livestock and field activity push house flies toward homes during humid summers, while older Frederick housing stock — stone foundations, original wood-frame construction, retrofitted attics — gives cluster flies the soffit gaps and wall voids they need to overwinter indoors each fall. For homeowners dealing with multiple pest pressures alongside flies, our pest control in Frederick covers the full range of seasonal threats the area presents.
Because the source is almost never the surface you’re cleaning. Drain flies breed in biofilm inside the drain itself — wiping the sink doesn’t reach it. Cluster flies overwinter in wall voids and emerge through interior gaps on warm days. House flies often breed outside in compost, pet waste, or nearby agricultural areas and enter through a gap you haven’t noticed. The fix is identifying the actual source, which is what our free inspection is built around.
Each one breeds in a completely different place, so the treatment is different. House flies breed in decaying organic matter outdoors and need exterior source removal plus perimeter treatment. Cluster flies overwinter inside walls and attics of older Frederick homes — treatment focuses on entry-point sealing and exterior application before fall. Drain flies breed in biofilm inside drains and need direct drain treatment. Misidentifying the species is the most common reason fly treatments fail, which is why we identify before we treat.
Yes. We use EPA-approved products and have nontoxic bio-pesticide options available for homes with children, pets, or family members with sensitivities — let us know up front and we’ll plan around it. Our exterior-first approach also keeps most of the treatment outside the home, where it stops flies from entering rather than dosing your interior. Troy has treated homes with crawling babies, immunocompromised children, and pets, and he’s documented for proactively flagging areas to avoid spraying around young kids.
It depends on the source. A drain fly problem traced to one drain is often a one-time fix. House flies and cluster flies, with Frederick’s humid summers and surrounding agricultural land creating constant outdoor pressure, usually do better on our Standard Care Plan — exterior treatment every 60 days with a 100% effective guarantee and free retreatment between visits if activity reappears. We’ll tell you honestly which one fits your situation. Troy has been documented across many reviews recommending against a service plan when one-time treatment is all you need.
Usually same-day or next-day. When you call (301) 829-0060, you’ll reach Troy, office staff, or a technician directly — no call center, no dispatcher. For active infestations we prioritize same-day scheduling, and Sunday and after-hours service is documented at no extra charge. The free inspection comes before any treatment recommendation, so there’s no commitment to find out what’s going on.
