- (301) 829-0060
- Mt. Airy, MD
- info@pestshieldinc.com
Pest Shield, Inc. has provided termite treatment and inspection services across Frederick County — including Brunswick and the surrounding Potomac River valley — since 2011, operating under Maryland Department of Agriculture license MDA #30263 and individual applicator certification MD Certified #19058. The company’s team brings over 75 years of combined pest management experience, including Jeffrey Allwine, an on-staff entomologist who performs termite protection treatments and provides species-level diagnostic support. Pest Shield has earned Best of Frederick, MD recognition for pest control (2021) and Best of Nextdoor for four consecutive years (2021–2024), with a 5.0 rating across 338+ reviews.
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.
Subterranean termites — Reticulitermes flavipes, the Eastern subterranean termite — are the species responsible for virtually all termite damage in Maryland. They work from the soil up, inside walls and structural members, and they do it quietly. By the time most Brunswick homeowners notice something wrong, the colony has typically been active for two to five years.
Brunswick’s position in the Potomac River valley compounds the risk. The clay-heavy soils of western Frederick County retain moisture at the foundation level year-round, and the river corridor adds ambient humidity that subterranean termites exploit. Older homes — many built mid-20th century or earlier — often have wood-to-soil contact points, crawl spaces with limited ventilation, and aging foundation details that give termites direct access to structural wood without ever being seen.
The warning signs are specific. If you’re seeing any of the following, a termite inspection is warranted:
One-time treatment rarely addresses the full picture. Subterranean termite colonies can number in the hundreds of thousands, with foraging tunnels extending 150 feet or more from the primary nest. Treating visible damage without eliminating the colony leaves the underlying pressure intact — which is why Pest Shield’s approach targets the colony itself, not just the access points you can see.
60+ years of combined experience. Tell us what you’re seeing — we’ll come look, no obligation.
Troy came out immediately to look at our house and did find termites, he was very professional, friendly and made us feel very comfortable; he explained everything to us; we had did some comparsion shopping with other companies and didn’t get the comfortable feeling with the other companies, Pest Shield was by far the best, I would recommend Pest Shield to anyone, they are a company that you can trust to have your best interest at heart. Troy was the best.
Linda Allen · July 2014 Read on HomeAdvisor →
Troy is a true professional. He accommodated my schedule by coming after hours to do an inspection. I had gotten a “free inspection” from another BIG, WELL-KNOWN company and they had me believing I had live termites. I was suspicious when they didn’t show up for the initial treatment, and more so when I got conflicting information from people at their company. Turns out I didn’t have termites, and Troy was straight up, didn’t try to rip me off with a service I didn’t need. He SAVED me $1400 and I will surely use him in the future if I ever have a pest problem of any kind! Go Pest Shield!
Marion Entwisle · June 2014 Read on HomeAdvisor →
Troy seems to genuinely like what he does and to educate his customers. He came to appointment ahead of time, explained things thoroughly, even taking me to crawl space under house to show where termites were entering house. Price was very competitive: price per linear foot was lower than other company and estimator from other company had included perimeter of a shed which, from my understanding, should not have been included because shed has no foundation, so not subject to invasion by termites. Work performed on time and as advertised. As indicated by others, a knowledgeable, competent and honest gentleman.
Otto Louis-Jacques · December 2015 Read on HomeAdvisor →
General pest & rodent control
Pest Shield’s termite treatment is built around Termidor® HE, applied under the Termite Warranty Plan — a one-time treatment protocol designed to eliminate the colony and protect the structure for the long term. Every job starts with a free inspection: Troy Yowell walks the property, inspects the foundation perimeter, crawl space, sill plates, and any areas of suspected activity, takes photographs of findings, and explains what he found before any treatment is recommended. If Jeffrey Allwine’s entomological expertise is needed for species confirmation or a complex diagnostic situation, it’s available in-house.
Termidor HE is applied as a continuous treated zone around the full foundation perimeter and into porch slabs and garages, with additional treatment concentrated on any areas showing active termite activity. What makes Termidor HE effective against subterranean termites specifically is its transfer mechanism: it is a non-repellent termiticide, meaning termites cannot detect it and do not avoid it. Foragers pass through the treated zone, pick up the active ingredient, and carry it back through the colony via normal contact and grooming behavior. The colony is eliminated from within — not just disrupted at the perimeter.
| Treatment Detail | What It Means for Your Home |
|---|---|
| One-time Termidor HE application | No annual retreatment required — one application establishes the treated zone |
| 90-day colony eradication | The full colony — including reproductives — is eliminated within 90 days of treatment |
| 15+ year residual effects | Termidor HE remains active in the soil for 15 or more years after a single application |
| 100% effective guarantee | Pest Shield stands behind the treatment — if it doesn’t work, they come back |
| Lifetime renewable warranty | Protection continues as long as you renew — one treatment, permanent coverage |
The Termite Warranty Plan’s lifetime renewable warranty means exactly what it says: one Termidor HE application establishes protection that can be maintained indefinitely through annual renewal — without retreatment, without new chemical applications, and without the recurring service contracts that other companies use to monetize the same job year after year. Otto Louis-Jacques, a Pest Shield customer, noted that Troy’s price per linear foot was lower than a competitor’s estimate — and that the competitor had improperly included a shed perimeter in their quote. That kind of honest assessment is standard practice here, not an exception.
Termidor HE is applied to soil and structural contact points around the exterior of the home — not to interior living spaces. Once the treated zone has dried, the home is safe for family members and pets. Troy will walk you through any specific precautions relevant to your property’s layout 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 sits at the base of the Catoctin Mountain foothills where Frederick County meets the Potomac River, roughly 15 miles southwest of Frederick along US-340. The town is bordered by the river to the south and by the C&O Canal National Historical Park corridor, with Carroll County’s western edge close to the north. Pest Shield serves Brunswick and the surrounding communities throughout Frederick and Carroll counties from its Mt. Airy base.
The Potomac River valley creates a moisture environment that persists at the foundation level in Brunswick homes year-round — and the clay-heavy soils common to western Frederick County hold that moisture where subterranean termite colonies need it most. Brunswick’s older housing stock, including many mid-century and earlier homes with crawl spaces and wood-to-soil contact, presents the entry conditions that Reticulitermes flavipes consistently exploits. This is not a seasonal concern here — it is a year-round structural risk that warrants comprehensive pest management in Brunswick.
The most reliable signs are mud tubes on foundation walls or crawl space piers, swarmers (winged termites) appearing near windows or doors in spring, hollow-sounding wood when tapped, and soft or sagging wood near soil-contact areas. Discarded swarmer wings left in small piles on windowsills are often the first thing homeowners notice. In Brunswick specifically, crawl spaces and sill plates are high-priority areas to check — the moisture conditions in the Potomac River valley make these zones particularly attractive to Reticulitermes flavipes, the Eastern subterranean termite responsible for virtually all termite damage in Maryland.
Termidor HE is a non-repellent termiticide — termites cannot detect it and move through the treated zone normally, picking up the active ingredient and transferring it to other colony members through contact and grooming. This transfer effect is what eliminates the colony rather than just repelling foragers from one entry point. Termidor HE is applied to soil and structural contact points around the exterior foundation perimeter, not to interior living spaces. Once the treated zone has dried, it is safe for families and pets. Troy will walk you through any property-specific precautions during the inspection.
The Termite Warranty Plan covers a single Termidor HE application with a 100% effective guarantee, 90-day colony eradication, and 15+ year residual protection. “Lifetime renewable” means the warranty on that one treatment can be maintained indefinitely through annual renewal — there is no requirement for retreatment or new chemical applications to keep coverage active. This is structurally different from the annual service contracts many companies sell, which require ongoing treatments to maintain protection. One application establishes the treated zone; the warranty renewal keeps your coverage current.
Termidor HE eliminates the termite colony within 90 days of treatment. The transfer mechanism — termites carrying the active ingredient back through the colony via normal contact — means the entire colony, including reproductives, is affected rather than just the foragers that pass through the treated zone. You may see continued termite activity near the treated area in the weeks immediately following treatment; this is normal and expected as the transfer effect works through the colony population.
One Termidor HE application is sufficient to eliminate the colony and establish long-term protection — the product’s residual effects last 15 or more years in the soil after a single treatment. Pest Shield’s Termite Warranty Plan is built around this: one application, a lifetime renewable warranty, no retreatment required to maintain coverage. Some companies structure termite protection as an annual service contract that requires recurring treatments; Termidor HE’s residual profile makes that unnecessary. The annual renewal under the Termite Warranty Plan maintains your warranty coverage, not the chemical protection itself.
