- (301) 829-0060
- Mt. Airy, MD
- info@pestshieldinc.com
Pest Shield has been treating stink bug invasions in Frederick County homes since 2011, with more than 75 years of combined pest management experience on staff. The company is licensed and certified by the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA #30263) and led by owner Troy Yowell, who is named directly in 149 of 248 customer reviews. Pest Shield holds a 5.0 rating across 338+ Google and HomeAdvisor reviews and was named Best of Frederick, MD Pest Control in 2021. Every new client relationship begins with a free property inspection.
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’ve found stink bugs clustered on a sunny window, behind curtains, or tucked into the corner of a ceiling, you’re seeing brown marmorated stink bugs (Halyomorpha halys) doing exactly what they evolved to do — find a warm, sheltered place to wait out winter. They don’t bite, sting, or damage your home structurally. But the smell they release when disturbed or crushed, combined with the sheer volume that can appear in a single fall, makes them one of the most disruptive nuisance pests in Central Maryland.
What homeowners in Frederick typically notice:
The trigger is seasonal. When overnight temperatures start dropping in September and October, stink bugs leave the agricultural fields, orchards, and wooded lots around Frederick and move toward structures. They squeeze through gaps around windows, door frames, soffits, utility penetrations, vents, and any seam in the siding wide enough to admit them — which isn’t much. One-time treatment after they’re already inside helps with the visible bugs, but doesn’t address the structural entry points or the ongoing pressure from outside. That’s why ongoing exterior treatment outperforms reactive interior work for this pest.
60+ years of combined experience. Tell us what you’re seeing — we’ll come look, no obligation.
Troy was excellent. He came on time and was very friendly and professional. He explained everything in great detail and did the inspection and treatment same day. The inspection was very thorough. Price was reasonable compared to other pest companies. I highly recommend Pest Shield.
Gosia Riebman · July 2022 Read on HomeAdvisor →
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 have used Pest Shield twice so far and each time we had an exceptional experience. We found Troy to be very honest, knowledgeable and professional. This company is built on integrity and will not overcharge you for services that are not needed. They know the biology behind the pests and the problem and won’t just spray to spray something. I highly recommend this company.
Jennifer Swistak · April 2025 Read on Google →
General pest & rodent control
Pest Shield treats stink bugs from the outside in. The approach is straightforward: stop them at the structure before they ever reach the interior. Troy or a Pest Shield technician inspects the exterior of the home, identifies the entry points stink bugs are using, and treats the perimeter surfaces where they congregate before entry — siding, soffits, around windows and door frames, utility penetrations, and the foundation line. This is the same exterior-first methodology Pest Shield applies across pest control in Frederick, and it’s particularly well-suited to overwintering pests like stink bugs that gather on warm exterior walls before pushing inside.
For a pest with this seasonal pattern, the right structure is ongoing protection rather than a single visit. Pest Shield delivers this through the Standard Care Plan:
The plan covers stink bugs alongside the rest of the general pest pressure that runs through Central Maryland — ants, spiders, crickets, centipedes, water bugs, and the rodents that follow the same fall entry pattern. One ongoing service handles the full picture, which is part of why customers like John Moore describe Pest Shield’s approach as treating “your house primarily from the outside to prevent pests from ever getting into your house.”
For homeowners who want to reduce stink bug entry on their own, sealing gaps around window frames, repairing damaged screens, and caulking utility penetrations all help — Troy will point these out during the inspection. The products used are EPA-approved, applied to exterior surfaces rather than inside living spaces, and Pest Shield offers options that are appropriate for homes with children, pets, and family members with sensitivities.
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 at the meeting point of working farmland and suburban development, with apple orchards, corn, and soybean fields covering much of the surrounding county. The Catoctin Mountains rise to the west, the Monocacy River cuts through the eastern side of the city, and I-70 and US-15 carry traffic past wooded lots, older in-town neighborhoods, and newer subdivisions stretching toward Walkersville, Urbana, and Middletown.
That agricultural backdrop is exactly what makes stink bug pressure so intense here. Brown marmorated stink bugs feed on orchard fruit and row crops all summer, building enormous populations in the landscape before fall pushes them toward structures. Frederick’s mix of older homes with settled gaps and newer construction with its own sealing vulnerabilities gives them plenty of entry points once they arrive at the house.
Stink bugs are overwintering pests — when fall temperatures start dropping in Frederick County, brown marmorated stink bugs leave the surrounding fields, orchards, and wooded lots and search for warm, sheltered places to wait out winter. Your house is one of the best options available to them. They gather on sun-warmed exterior walls, then push through any gap they can find around windows, soffits, utility lines, and door frames. The sudden surge typically peaks from late September through October but can continue into November depending on the weather.
No. Stink bugs don’t bite, don’t sting, and don’t cause structural damage to your home. They also don’t reproduce indoors. The reason homeowners want them gone is the smell — disturbed or crushed stink bugs release a defensive odor that lingers — and the sheer volume that can build up inside a house in a bad year. They’re a nuisance pest, not a hazard, and Pest Shield will tell you that directly during an inspection.
You can reduce the problem meaningfully on your own — sealing gaps around windows, repairing torn screens, and caulking utility penetrations all help. Avoid crushing them indoors, since that releases the odor. The limitation is scale: in a county with this much agricultural land producing this many stink bugs, an unprotected exterior gets repeatedly overwhelmed once fall arrives. Treating the structure from the outside is what reduces the volume reaching your home in the first place.
Pest Shield treats the exterior of the home — siding, soffits, around windows and doors, utility penetrations, and the foundation line — using EPA-approved products applied where stink bugs congregate before entry. There’s typically no need for interior treatment, and you don’t need to be home. Troy or the technician inspects the property first, points out entry points you can seal yourself, and explains exactly what the treatment will and won’t do. The free inspection is the starting point for every new customer.
For stink bugs in Frederick County, ongoing service consistently outperforms one-time treatment. The pressure from surrounding orchards and fields doesn’t go away, and a single application doesn’t carry through an entire fall and into spring. Pest Shield’s Standard Care Plan is built for this — treatment every 60 days, 100% effective guarantee, and free retreatment between scheduled visits if activity reappears. It also covers the other general pests that share the same entry season, so you’re not paying separately for mice and rodent pressure. Call (301) 829-0060 to schedule a free inspection.
