- (301) 829-0060
- Mt. Airy, MD
- info@pestshieldinc.com
Pest Shield, Inc. has provided pest management services to Frederick County homeowners since 2011, holding Maryland Department of Agriculture license MDA #30263 and operating with over 75 years of combined pest management experience across the team. Owner Troy Yowell brings approximately 35 years of hands-on experience to every service call, and Pest Shield‘s staff includes an on-staff entomologist, Jeffrey Allwine, whose species-level expertise informs how the company approaches seasonal pests like the brown marmorated stink bug. With 338+ five-star reviews across Google and HomeAdvisor and recognition as a Best of Nextdoor winner four consecutive years (2021–2024), Pest Shield is the pest management company Brunswick and Frederick County homeowners call when they want the problem actually solved.
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.
If you’re seeing stink bugs massing on the south-facing walls of your home or clustering around windows in late September and October, you’re watching a predictable biological event — not a random infestation. The brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys), an invasive species introduced from Asia, spends the warmer months feeding on vegetation across Brunswick’s wooded ridgelines and agricultural edges. As days shorten and temperatures drop, those populations shift from feeding to seeking shelter — and the warm exterior surfaces of your home are exactly what they’re looking for.
Brunswick’s landscape concentrates this pressure. The wooded hillsides above town, the agricultural land to the west and north, and the Potomac River corridor create the kind of habitat mosaic where stink bug populations build up through summer before migrating toward structures in fall. Older homes in Brunswick’s historic core — with more gaps around windows, doors, utility penetrations, and aging siding — tend to experience heavier indoor infiltration than newer construction, even when exterior populations are similar.
Here’s what the pattern typically looks like:
One-time spray treatments applied after stink bugs are already indoors address the symptom, not the source. The population driving indoor infiltration is outside — on your walls, in your landscaping, and in the surrounding vegetation — which is why exterior perimeter treatment timed before peak aggregation consistently outperforms reactive indoor spraying.
60+ years of combined experience. Tell us what you’re seeing — we’ll come look, no obligation.
Pavement ants raided our basement this morning and I was desperate for someone to come today! After calling around and being told they recommended a quarterly service before even seeing our problem and couldn’t come out until Thursday(!!!) I called pest shield and they came this morning. He explained the problem and found the source. He sprayed the area and around the house and doesn’t think we need a service plan. He is also knowledgeable about mosquitoes. Call them!!
Elise Richard · June 2024 Read on Google →
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 →
Pest Shield is a great company to work with. Troy is very knowledgeable and won’t do services you don’t need. He does a thorough job the first time so you don’t have to keep calling him back.
Jim Frizen · April 2020 Read on Google →
General pest & rodent control
Pest Shield’s approach to stink bug control starts outside — which is where the problem originates. Troy and the team treat the exterior perimeter of your home before stink bugs push indoors, targeting the surfaces where they aggregate and the entry points they use to get in. This exterior-first methodology keeps product out of your living space while addressing the pest pressure where it’s actually concentrated. As one longtime customer described it: “Pest Shield treats your house primarily from the outside to prevent pests from ever getting into your house and keeps the chemicals out of your home, protecting your family.”
The treatment process for stink bugs in Brunswick typically follows this sequence:
Timing matters. Treatment applied in late August or early September — before peak aggregation — is most effective at reducing the population that would otherwise push indoors. Mid-season treatment (October) still reduces pressure significantly and is worth doing if you’re currently seeing activity. If you’re calling now, don’t wait.
For homeowners dealing with recurring seasonal stink bug pressure, Pest Shield’s Standard Care Plan is the practical solution. The plan runs on a 60-day bi-monthly cadence — more frequent than the industry-standard quarterly schedule — with complete exterior treatment focus and a 100% effective guarantee. If stink bug activity reappears between scheduled visits, Pest Shield returns at no charge. You don’t need to be home for treatment. The reactive-to-recurring shift is what separates homeowners who deal with stink bugs every fall from those who stop dealing with them.
Pest Shield uses EPA-approved products applied to the exterior of the home. For households with children, pets, or sensitivities, nontoxic bio-pesticide options are available — Troy will discuss what’s appropriate for your situation during the inspection.
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 Frederick County community along the C&O Canal and Potomac River, roughly 15 miles southwest of Frederick via MD-17 and US-340. The town sits at the base of Catoctin Mountain’s southern ridges, with older in-town neighborhoods close to the river and newer residential development climbing the hillsides above. Pest Shield serves all of Brunswick and the surrounding Frederick County communities, including Knoxville, Petersville, and Jefferson to the west and south.
The landscape surrounding Brunswick — wooded ridgelines, agricultural fields to the north and west, and the river corridor’s edge habitat — creates ideal conditions for brown marmorated stink bug populations to build through summer. When temperatures drop in September and October, those populations migrate toward structures. Brunswick’s older housing stock, with its aging window frames, brick facades, and utility gaps common in pre-1980s construction, gives stink bugs more entry opportunities than newer builds — making pest control in Brunswick particularly well-suited to this community.
The most effective window for stink bug treatment is late August through mid-September, before peak aggregation begins on exterior walls. Treating at this point intercepts the population before it pushes indoors. That said, mid-season treatment in October still reduces pressure significantly — it won’t eliminate stink bugs already sheltering inside wall voids, but it stops additional entry and knocks down the exterior population driving the problem. If you’re seeing stink bugs inside now, it’s worth calling rather than waiting for next season. Pest Shield offers same-day and next-day scheduling — call (301) 829-0060 to discuss what you’re seeing and get a free inspection scheduled.
A single treatment can significantly reduce stink bug activity for the current season, but stink bug pressure in Brunswick is a recurring annual pattern — the same habitat conditions that drove this year’s population will drive next year’s. Homeowners who see the most consistent results typically pair an initial treatment with Pest Shield’s Standard Care Plan, which runs on a 60-day bi-monthly cadence with a 100% effective guarantee and free retreatment between visits if activity reappears. Troy will give you an honest read on whether ongoing service makes sense for your property — Pest Shield doesn’t push plans when a one-time treatment will do the job.
Pest Shield’s exterior-first approach keeps product outside the home, which limits indoor exposure for your family and pets. The products used are EPA-approved, and nontoxic bio-pesticide options are available for households with children, pets, or sensitivities. Troy discusses the appropriate product choice during the inspection based on your specific situation. The exterior-focused application means little to no interior treatment is typically required for stink bug work.
Stink bugs already sheltering in wall voids, attics, or crawl spaces are overwintering — they’re dormant and not reproducing, but they’ll emerge on warm days and in early spring. Exterior perimeter treatment stops additional entry but doesn’t directly reach stink bugs already inside structural voids. The practical approach is to vacuum up any stink bugs that appear in living areas (using a bag vacuum you can seal and dispose of, to contain the odor) while the exterior treatment reduces the population that would otherwise keep adding to the indoor count. Troy will explain what to expect during the inspection based on how far into the season the infiltration has progressed.
Brown marmorated stink bug populations fluctuate year to year based on spring and summer weather conditions — warm, dry summers with abundant agricultural and ornamental vegetation tend to produce larger populations heading into fall aggregation season. Regional population pressure also shifts as the invasive species continues to spread and establish in new areas. In Frederick County, years with extended warm falls tend to produce more dramatic aggregation events because stink bugs remain active longer before cold forces them to shelter. The underlying habitat conditions around Brunswick — wooded ridgelines, agricultural edges, river corridor vegetation — don’t change, which is why recurring exterior treatment tends to outperform reacting to each season’s surge individually.
