- (301) 829-0060
- Mt. Airy, MD
- info@pestshieldinc.com
Pest Shield, Inc. has served Brunswick and Frederick County since 2011, with over 75 years of combined pest management experience across the team and 338+ five-star reviews on Google and HomeAdvisor. Owner Troy Yowell personally handles the majority of stinging insect calls — he’s named in 60% of all customer reviews — and brings approximately 35 years of pest management experience to every job, including high-stakes work protecting U.S. military bases overseas. Pest Shield holds Maryland Department of Agriculture business license MDA #30263 and individual applicator certification MD Cert #19058, and has earned Best of Nextdoor recognition four consecutive years (2021–2024).
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.
Most homeowners notice a hornet problem one of two ways: they spot the nest, or they start seeing heavy flight activity near the roofline, a soffit, or the edge of a wooded lot — and then they find the nest. Either way, by the time it’s obvious, the colony is already established. Brunswick’s mix of older in-town homes with sheltered overhangs, wooded lot edges along the Potomac ridge, and proximity to the C&O Canal’s tree canopy gives hornets exactly what they look for: protected structure close to foraging habitat.
Two species account for most hornet calls in Central Maryland:
The timing of when you find a nest matters significantly. Early in the season, a small colony is a manageable problem. By July through October — the period that generates the majority of Pest Shield’s stinging insect calls — colonies are at maximum size and workers are at their most defensive. A nest that seemed minor in May can be genuinely hazardous by August. Disturbing an established hornet nest without professional equipment and products can provoke a coordinated defensive response involving dozens to hundreds of workers simultaneously. For anyone with a bee sting allergy in the household, that’s a serious health risk, not just an inconvenience.
Common signs a hornet nest is active and established near your Brunswick home:
60+ years of combined experience. Tell us what you’re seeing — we’ll come look, no obligation.
Pest shield has done an incredible job. We had used other companies who were unsuccessful at getting rid of mice. Pest Shield doesn’t even come into the house! Since Pest Shield started working at our house, we have not had any problems at all! Robert is terrific.
Ira Polon · October 2021 Read on Google →
Pest Sheild is the best! I had a yellow jacket bee hive coming out of our exterior wall and thet got rid of it along with the bees! Very efficient, knowledgeable and also so very nice! Definilty would recommend to everyone!
Dianne Burbank · August 2024 Read on Google →
Rob came to our house to take care of a European Hornet nest in our chimney. He explained what he was going to do, and took care of the problem quickly. We will surely use Pest Shield the next time we have a problem.
David Boteler · September 2023 Read on Google →
General pest & rodent control
Pest Shield, Inc. has built its approach to hornet work around one visit that resolves the problem completely. When you call, you reach Troy or a technician directly — no dispatch queue, no call center. Troy assesses the situation over the phone, determines urgency, and schedules accordingly. For active hornet nests, same-day and next-day service is standard. Multiple reviews document Troy arriving within hours of a morning call, and Sunday service at no extra charge is confirmed.
On-site, the process is straightforward:
The seasonal warranty means that if hornets return to the treated nest location within the season, Pest Shield comes back at no additional charge. This is a single-visit service by design — hornet colonies don’t require the multi-visit treatment cycles that some other pests do — but the warranty ensures you’re not left managing a recurrence on your own.
On safety: the products used are EPA-approved and applied directly to the nest, not broadcast across your property. Troy advises on any post-treatment precautions specific to your situation — typically a brief window to allow the treatment to work before resuming normal activity in the area. Professional treatment keeps the chemical application targeted and the risk to your family and pets minimal, which is part of why it’s the right call over DIY for an established colony.
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 sits at the southern edge of Frederick County along the Potomac River, bordered by the C&O Canal National Historical Park and connected to the broader region via US-340 and the MARC Brunswick commuter rail line. The town’s older in-town housing stock — with wood soffits, fascia boards, and sheltered overhangs common on homes built decades ago — sits in close proximity to significant tree canopy and the green corridor running along the river. Pest Shield covers Brunswick as part of its Frederick County service area, alongside Frederick, Middletown, Myersville, and surrounding communities.
That combination of older residential structures and adjacent wooded habitat is exactly what makes hornet pressure consistent in Brunswick. Bald-faced hornets favor the sheltered overhangs and eave lines found on older homes; European hornets exploit gaps in aging siding and fascia to access wall voids. The C&O Canal corridor and the wooded lot edges on Brunswick’s outskirts provide foraging habitat that keeps colonies active and close to residential areas through the full late-summer and fall season. Residents dealing with recurring stinging insect pressure alongside other seasonal pests may benefit from pest control in Brunswick that addresses the full range of threats year-round.
Same-day service for active hornet nests is standard. Multiple customers document calling in the morning and having Troy arrive within hours; Sunday service at no extra charge is also confirmed. When you call (301) 829-0060, you reach Troy or a technician directly — not a dispatcher — so scheduling happens in one conversation. If same-day isn’t possible due to schedule, next-day service is typical for stinging insect work.
One visit is the standard for hornet nest removal. Unlike pests that require treatment cycles tied to egg hatch biology, hornet colonies are eliminated through direct nest treatment in a single visit. Troy stays on-site after treatment to address foragers returning to the nest location, which prevents the partial-resolution problem that can follow a quick-and-leave approach. A seasonal warranty covers the treated nest — if hornets return to that location within the season, Pest Shield comes back at no charge.
For an established colony — anything beyond a very small, newly started nest in an accessible, low-traffic location — professional removal is the right call. By midsummer, a bald-faced hornet colony can exceed several hundred workers, and disturbing the nest without professional equipment and products can trigger a mass defensive response. If anyone in your household has a bee sting allergy, the risk is serious. Professional treatment keeps the application targeted, the exposure brief, and the outcome complete — including addressing returning foragers that DIY treatment typically misses.
Pest Shield uses EPA-approved products applied directly to the nest and surrounding area — not broadcast across your yard. Troy advises on post-treatment precautions specific to your situation, typically a short window before normal activity resumes in the treated area. Pest Shield has documented experience treating homes with young children and pets, and the targeted application approach is part of why professional treatment is lower-risk than DIY sprays applied without knowing nest location or colony size.
Foragers returning to a treated nest location will contact the residual product and are eliminated — this is a documented part of Troy’s on-site process. He stays briefly after treatment specifically to observe and address returning workers. The next-day follow-up call confirms that activity has stopped. If returning hornets are still active after treatment, the seasonal warranty means Troy comes back at no additional charge until the nest is fully resolved.
