- (301) 829-0060
- Mt. Airy, MD
- info@pestshieldinc.com
Pest Shield, Inc. has been serving Frederick County homeowners since 2011, with licensing through the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA #30263) and over 75 years of combined pest management experience across the team. Owner Troy Yowell has approximately 35 years in the industry — including pest management work on U.S. military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan — and handles the majority of wasp removal calls personally. Pest Shield carries a 5.0 rating across 338+ reviews on Google and HomeAdvisor, and has been recognized as Best of Frederick MD Pest Control (2021) and a Nextdoor Neighborhood Favorite for four consecutive years.
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 wasp calls start the same way — you notice activity around a soffit, a window frame, or an outbuilding and realize something has been building there for weeks. By late summer and early fall, colonies in Central Maryland are at their largest and workers are at their most defensive. That’s when the risk of a sting goes up, and when most homeowners decide it’s time to call.
Emmitsburg’s older housing stock, farm properties, and wooded lot lines give wasps more nesting opportunity than most Central Maryland towns. Wood siding, unscreened vents, deteriorating eave lines, and outbuildings all provide the sheltered cavities that paper wasps and mud daubers prefer. The proximity to agricultural land and field edges increases exposure to ground-nesting species as well.
Attempting to treat a concealed nest without knowing exactly where it is — or without the right products and protective equipment — is where most stings happen. A nest inside a wall void doesn’t respond to a can of hardware-store spray the way an exposed nest might, and disturbing it without treating it fully can make the colony more aggressive without resolving the problem.
60+ years of combined experience. Tell us what you’re seeing — we’ll come look, no obligation.
I received a call back from Pest Control within minutes of submitting my yellow jacket problem on MyHome Advisor. On the phone, Troy explained his eco-friendly treatment process and cost and by early afternoon the problem was solved. I could not have asked for better service and price.
Don Housley · June 2013 Read on HomeAdvisor →
I emailed with a bald faced hornet issue. Troy called very quickly and we scheduled the next day. I didn’t have to be there. He came out and took care of the nest, stayed briefly to take care of any residual bees that were not in the nest at the time, and then called me the next day to make sure there were no issues. I have not seen any bees since he did the service. I will definitely use his services again if I ever have anymore pest issues.
Kathryn Wilson · June 2018 Read on HomeAdvisor →
Called them about an issue I was having with yellow jackets flying in and out of the siding of my house, Troy came out the very next day and assessed the situation and got the problem fixed, he even checked in a couple days later to make sure the yellow jackets were not coming back. I would highly recommend them for the super quick service they provided and the fact that they check up on their work. Thanks again
Kevork Araklian · September 2025 Read on Google →
General pest & rodent control
When you call Pest Shield, Inc. about a wasp problem, the first priority is locating the nest — not just treating where you’ve seen activity. Troy inspects the structure to identify where wasps are entering and exiting, traces activity back to the nest site, and assesses whether the colony is in an accessible location or concealed inside a wall void, vent, or soffit cavity. That diagnostic step is what separates a treatment that works from one that doesn’t. Pest Shield has documented experience locating nests in some of the harder spots — wall voids, exhaust fan vents, chimney areas, under siding, and in attic spaces — and Emmitsburg’s older homes present exactly those kinds of situations.
For most wasp removal calls, the service follows a straightforward pattern:
When the job is done, the wasp activity at the treated location should stop within a day or two as returning workers encounter the treated nest. Troy explains what to expect before he leaves — including what residual activity looks like in the first 24–48 hours — so you’re not left guessing. The seasonal warranty covers the treated nest: if wasps return to the same location within the warranty period, Pest Shield retreats at no charge. Treatment uses eco-friendly products applied directly to the nest and entry points. The methods are EPA-approved and safe for homes with children and pets when applied as directed — Troy is documented being careful about product placement around families, and will walk you through any precautions before he leaves.
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.
Emmitsburg sits at the northern edge of Frederick County, just south of the Pennsylvania border along US-15, with Catoctin Mountain to the east and open farmland stretching in most other directions. Pest Shield is based in Mt. Airy and serves all of Frederick County — Emmitsburg is the far end of that range, and they make the trip. The drive up US-15 from the Mt. Airy area runs through the heart of the county, connecting Emmitsburg to the same team that serves Frederick, Thurmont, and Walkersville.
The combination of older housing stock, working farm properties, and wooded lot edges around Emmitsburg creates above-average nesting pressure for structure-nesting wasps. Farmhouse-era construction — wood siding, unscreened gable vents, deteriorating soffit lines — offers the sheltered cavities that paper wasps favor. Agricultural field edges and hedgerows nearby support higher insect populations generally, and when fields are turned in late summer, wasp foraging activity around structures tends to increase. Homes on larger rural lots with outbuildings face the additional exposure of multiple potential nest sites per property — making pest control in Emmitsburg an ongoing consideration for many residents.
Yes — same-day service for active wasp situations is standard for Pest Shield, and Emmitsburg is within their Frederick County service area. Troy has been documented arriving within hours of a call, including on Sundays at no extra charge. If you call (301) 829-0060 in the morning, same-day scheduling is the norm for wasp removal. Next-day is typical for non-emergency situations.
Returning workers that weren’t present during treatment will encounter the treated nest site and typically die off within 24–48 hours. Troy stays on-site briefly after treatment specifically to address returning wasps — this is a documented part of how Pest Shield handles stinging insect removal, and it’s what prevents the colony from regrouping at the same location. You may see some residual activity in the first day or two; that’s normal and expected to resolve quickly.
For most wasp removal situations, a single treatment is sufficient when the nest is fully located and treated — including the entry points. Pest Shield’s service for wasp removal includes a seasonal warranty: if wasps return to the treated location within the warranty period, Troy comes back at no additional charge. New nests in different locations on the same property are a separate situation — Emmitsburg properties with multiple outbuildings or extensive eave lines may see new colonies establish in untreated areas in subsequent seasons, which is worth discussing with Troy during the visit.
Pest Shield uses EPA-approved products applied directly to the nest and entry points, and eco-friendly treatment processes are documented across their work. Troy is careful about product placement around families — he proactively advises on precautions before leaving, and has been documented adjusting his approach for homes with children and pets. He’ll walk you through what to avoid and for how long before he wraps up the visit.
Paper wasps (Polistes spp.) build open, umbrella-shaped nests under eaves, on window frames, and in sheltered overhangs — the nest is often visible and the wasps are relatively slender with long dangling legs in flight. Yellow jackets are stockier, more aggressive, and typically nest in concealed locations: wall voids, underground, or inside siding gaps. If you’re seeing wasps entering and exiting a hole in your siding or a vent rather than visiting an exposed nest, yellow jackets are more likely. Pest Shield handles both — if you’re not sure which you have, describe what you’re seeing when you call and Troy can usually narrow it down before he arrives.
