diff --git a/controller.go b/controller.go
index 6a3924e..d2c1f78 100644
--- a/controller.go
+++ b/controller.go
@@ -68,6 +68,24 @@ func NewController(handler *func(*core_v1.Node), dsHandler *func(ops string, ds
 					(*handler)(node)
 				}
 			},
+			DeleteFunc: func(obj interface{}) {
+				node, ok := obj.(*core_v1.Node)
+				if !ok {
+					tombstone, ok := obj.(cache.DeletedFinalStateUnknown)
+					if !ok {
+						return
+					}
+					node, ok = tombstone.Obj.(*core_v1.Node)
+					if !ok {
+						return
+					}
+				}
+				// Node is gone; tear down its pod watcher so the goroutine,
+				// informer and cached pods don't leak.
+				isHandling.Lock()
+				stopNodeWatcher(node.Name)
+				isHandling.Unlock()
+			},
 		},
 		cache.Indexers{},
 	)
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 1abff1d..2953d58 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -28,8 +28,9 @@ import (
 )
 
 var (
-	dsList   = make(map[string]*v1.DaemonSet)
-	podStore = make(map[string]*cache.Indexer)
+	dsList       = make(map[string]*v1.DaemonSet)
+	podStore     = make(map[string]*cache.Indexer)
+	podStopChans = make(map[string]chan struct{})
 
 	isHandling = sync.Mutex{}
 
@@ -73,6 +74,16 @@ func getClientset() (*kubernetes.Clientset, error) {
 	return clientset, nil
 }
 
+// stopNodeWatcher tears down the per-node pod watcher and forgets the node.
+// Caller must hold isHandling. No-op for an untracked node; closes exactly once.
+func stopNodeWatcher(nodeName string) {
+	if ch, ok := podStopChans[nodeName]; ok {
+		close(ch)
+		delete(podStopChans, nodeName)
+	}
+	delete(podStore, nodeName)
+}
+
 func checkDSStatus(node *core_v1.Node, opts config.Ops) (bool, error) {
 	isHandling.Lock()
 	defer isHandling.Unlock()
@@ -260,8 +271,9 @@ func main() {
 	podHandler := func(pod *core_v1.Pod, node *core_v1.Node, podStopChan chan struct{}) {
 		// check if the node has required taint, if not, ignore this node
 		if !taintutils.TaintExists(node.Spec.Taints, notReadyTaint) {
-			delete(podStore, node.Name)
-			podStopChan <- struct{}{}
+			isHandling.Lock()
+			stopNodeWatcher(node.Name)
+			isHandling.Unlock()
 			return
 		}
 
@@ -295,8 +307,9 @@ func main() {
 		if err != nil {
 			logrus.Errorf("Failed to remove taint from node: %v", err)
 		}
-		delete(podStore, node.Name)
-		podStopChan <- struct{}{}
+		isHandling.Lock()
+		stopNodeWatcher(node.Name)
+		isHandling.Unlock()
 	}
 
 	hasSynced := false
@@ -305,25 +318,32 @@ func main() {
 		if !taintutils.TaintExists(node.Spec.Taints, notReadyTaint) || !hasSynced {
 			return
 		}
-		// there is already a goroutine handling this node
 		isHandling.Lock()
 		defer isHandling.Unlock()
-		if _, ok := podStore[node.Name]; ok {
+		// Reserve the slot under the lock so a burst of node updates can't
+		// spawn two watchers (and two informers) for the same node.
+		if _, ok := podStopChans[node.Name]; ok {
 			return
 		}
+		podStopCh := make(chan struct{})
+		podStopChans[node.Name] = podStopCh
 
 		go func() {
-			// Handle termination
-			podStopCh := make(chan struct{})
-			defer close(podStopCh)
 			// launch pod watcher
 			podIndexer, podInformer, err := NewPodInformer(&podHandler, node, podStopCh)
 			if err != nil {
-				logrus.Fatalf("Error creating pod watcher: %v", err)
+				logrus.Errorf("Error creating pod watcher for node %s: %v", node.Name, err)
+				isHandling.Lock()
+				stopNodeWatcher(node.Name)
+				isHandling.Unlock()
+				return
 			}
 			go podInformer.Run(podStopCh)
 			isHandling.Lock()
-			podStore[node.Name] = &podIndexer
+			// Skip if the node was deleted while the informer was starting.
+			if _, ok := podStopChans[node.Name]; ok {
+				podStore[node.Name] = &podIndexer
+			}
 			isHandling.Unlock()
 			<-podStopCh
 		}()