- (301) 829-0060
- Mt. Airy, MD
- info@pestshieldinc.com
Pest Shield has been removing wasp, yellow jacket, and hornet nests across Mt. Airy and the surrounding Frederick and Carroll County area since 2011. The company is licensed by the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA #30263) and operates with a certified entomologist on staff, Jeffrey Allwine, for species-level identification when field ID isn’t conclusive. Owner Troy Yowell — with roughly 35 years in pest management, including years protecting U.S. military bases overseas — handles most stinging insect calls personally. The company carries a 5.0 rating across 338+ reviews on Google and HomeAdvisor, with stinging insect work as its most heavily reviewed service category.
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.
By the time most homeowners call, they’ve already spotted the activity — a steady stream of wasps slipping in and out of one specific spot on the house. The nest itself is usually somewhere you can’t safely reach. Where it sits matters as much as the nest itself, because the location dictates how aggressive the colony will be when disturbed and whether a homeowner can treat it without getting stung.
The common nest locations on Mt. Airy homes:
What most people call “wasps” is often something more specific. Paper wasps (Polistes spp.) build the open, umbrella-shaped nests under eaves and on deck railings — generally less aggressive unless the nest is directly disturbed. Yellow jackets (Vespula spp.) are the ground-nesting and wall-void builders responsible for most late-summer sting incidents. Bald-faced hornets (Dolichovespula maculata) build the large gray paper nests in trees and on structures and are aggressive defenders. The treatment approach is similar across all three, but accurate identification helps confirm where the colony is concentrated.
Late summer and early fall — late July through October — is peak aggression season in Central Maryland. Colonies have reached maximum size, food sources are dwindling, and workers are markedly more defensive. This is when households with anyone allergic to stings face the highest risk. A nest near a doorway, deck, or kids’ play area is not something to wait out.
60+ years of combined experience. Tell us what you’re seeing — we’ll come look, no obligation.
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 →
I called Pest Shield when we needed something done right away. We have a hornets nest and a wasp nest in bad places, three days before having a large gathering. Troy had a busy schedule, but agreed to come after 5:00 that evening. He got here shortly after 5:00, was friendly, thorough and professional, and took care of the nests (and two more we found). He explained everything, showed me what he could, and left excellent and detailed information. I’d hire him again any time we need that sort of service, and would definitely recommend Pest Shield.
Kai Hagen · July 2017 Read on HomeAdvisor →
Highly recommend Troy Yowell with Pest Shield, Inc. We found 2 bee nests on our property, Yellow Jackets in Powder Room exhaust fan vent and Bone Faced Hornets on Soffit. Troy was able to treat and remove both.
Wendy · July 2023 Read on Google →
General pest & rodent control
When someone calls (301) 829-0060 about an active wasp problem, the call goes directly to Troy, the office staff, or a technician — not a dispatcher or call center. Troy assesses the situation by phone, determines how urgent it is, and schedules accordingly. Same-day service is standard for active stinging insect situations, particularly when there’s a family member with a sting allergy. Next-day is typical for less urgent calls. Sunday and after-hours response are documented in dozens of reviews.
The on-site work follows a consistent pattern:
One visit handles the vast majority of wasp work. Seasonal warranty covers re-treatment at no charge if the same nest shows renewed activity. The nest itself doesn’t generally need to be physically removed once the colony is dead — wasps don’t reuse old nests, and removing it from a wall void usually requires opening the wall, which isn’t necessary for the treatment to work.
On safety: the products used are EPA-approved and Troy is documented across reviews proactively advising customers on precautions around treated areas — particularly for homes with young children, pets, or anyone with sting allergies. When eco-friendly treatment is appropriate for the location, it’s offered. The exterior-focused nature of most wasp work keeps chemical exposure inside the home minimal.
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.
Mt. Airy sits along the ridge between Frederick and Carroll counties, with neighborhoods running from the older sections near Main Street out to the wooded developments along Buffalo Road, Watersville Road, and Twin Arch Road. The mix of mature tree cover, open fields backing residential lots, and a wide range of construction ages — from century-old farmhouses to recent builds — gives wasps an unusually broad set of nesting options.
That building mix is what drives the local wasp pressure. Older homes with wood soffits, settled siding, and weathered trim offer ready-made cavities. Newer homes have HVAC penetrations, exhaust vents, and ridge vent gaps that yellow jackets exploit just as easily. Wooded lots and field edges put more colonies near structures to begin with, and the late-summer activity peak — July through October — drives the heaviest call volume of pest control in Mt. Airy.
Same-day response is standard for active stinging insect calls in the Mt. Airy area, and Sunday and after-hours service are both documented. When you call (301) 829-0060, you’ll speak directly with Troy, office staff, or a technician — not a call center — and Troy will assess urgency over the phone. Calls involving a household member with a sting allergy, or a nest in or near a doorway or play area, are prioritized.
Returning foragers — the wasps out hunting when treatment happens — come back to the treated entry and are killed when they encounter it. Troy stays on-site briefly after treating the nest to address these returning insects directly rather than leaving them to find another way in. Activity typically tapers within hours and stops within a day or two; the next-morning follow-up call confirms the colony is finished.
Paper wasps build open, umbrella-shaped nests with visible cells, usually under eaves or on railings. Yellow jackets are smaller and typically nest in wall voids, exhaust vents, or in the ground — you’ll see steady traffic in and out of one spot. Bald-faced hornets build large gray football-shaped paper nests in trees or on structures. Treatment is similar across all three, but accurate identification helps confirm where the colony is concentrated and how aggressive the response is likely to be. If field ID isn’t conclusive, samples can be sent to Jeffrey Allwine, the entomologist on staff, for species-level identification.
One visit handles the vast majority of wasp removal jobs. The colony is killed at the nest, and wasps don’t reuse old nests — a treated nest doesn’t repopulate. Pest Shield’s seasonal warranty covers re-treatment at no charge if the same nest shows renewed activity. A new colony in a different location later in the season is a separate job, but it’s uncommon for the same site to re-establish.
The products used are EPA-approved, and Troy proactively advises on precautions around treated areas — particularly when there are young children, pets, or family members with sting allergies in the home. Most wasp work is exterior, which keeps chemical exposure inside the house minimal, and an eco-friendly treatment option is available where it fits the situation. Troy will walk through what to avoid and for how long before he leaves.
