diff --git a/mcp-watcher/src/watcher.ts b/mcp-watcher/src/watcher.ts
index 7bf0165..cb42ad2 100644
--- a/mcp-watcher/src/watcher.ts
+++ b/mcp-watcher/src/watcher.ts
@@ -7,11 +7,6 @@
 //   2. Set up chokidar on the inbox file. On change, re-read, emit new lines.
 //   3. Sentinel-deferred pings remain in the inbox; on each change-event
 //      we re-evaluate them. The HWM file does NOT advance past them.
-//   4. Safety-poll: a periodic timer also calls drain() regardless of
-//      filesystem events. Catches the rare case where the kernel drops
-//      an inotify event (observed under brief idle gaps + atomic writes).
-//      drain() is idempotent, so the overhead is one stat + HWM compare
-//      when nothing's changed.
 //
 // The notifier is the MCP server's `mcp.notification()` wrapped to take a
 // PingEvent + optional warning. Decoupled so this module is testable
@@ -42,21 +37,11 @@ export interface WatcherOptions {
   onDrain?: (result: { delivered: number; deferred: number }) => void;
   /** Override for testability — chokidar in prod, mock in tests. */
   startWatcher?: (path: string, onChange: () => void) => FSWatcher | { close(): Promise<void> };
-  /**
-   * Safety-poll interval in ms. Calls drain() unconditionally to catch
-   * dropped inotify events. Default 30_000. Set to 0 to disable (tests
-   * that don't need the poll, or environments with perfectly-reliable
-   * fs notifications).
-   */
-  safetyPollMs?: number;
 }
 
-const DEFAULT_SAFETY_POLL_MS = 30_000;
-
 export class InboxWatcher {
   private opts: WatcherOptions;
   private fsWatcher: FSWatcher | { close(): Promise<void> } | null = null;
-  private safetyPoll: ReturnType<typeof setInterval> | null = null;
   /** All seen events keyed by id, used by the respond tool to look up sender. */
   private seen = new Map<string, PingEvent>();
   private draining = false;
@@ -75,20 +60,9 @@ export class InboxWatcher {
     this.fsWatcher = start(inboxPath, () => {
       void this.drain();
     });
-
-    const pollMs = this.opts.safetyPollMs ?? DEFAULT_SAFETY_POLL_MS;
-    if (pollMs > 0) {
-      this.safetyPoll = setInterval(() => {
-        void this.drain();
-      }, pollMs);
-    }
   }
 
   async stop(): Promise<void> {
-    if (this.safetyPoll) {
-      clearInterval(this.safetyPoll);
-      this.safetyPoll = null;
-    }
     if (this.fsWatcher) {
       await this.fsWatcher.close();
       this.fsWatcher = null;
diff --git a/mcp-watcher/test/watcher.test.ts b/mcp-watcher/test/watcher.test.ts
index 794c677..690c27d 100644
--- a/mcp-watcher/test/watcher.test.ts
+++ b/mcp-watcher/test/watcher.test.ts
@@ -130,67 +130,6 @@ describe("InboxWatcher initial drain", () => {
     await w.stop();
   });
 
-  it("safety-poll delivers pings appended while no fs-event fires", async () => {
-    // Simulates the dropped-inotify-event case: chokidar mock never fires
-    // onChange. A ping is appended after start(); only the safety-poll
-    // timer can catch it. Asserts the watcher recovers within one poll cycle.
-    const paths = makePaths(dir);
-    mkdirSync(paths.pingsDir, { recursive: true });
-    writeInbox(paths.inbox("bob"), [ev({ id: "before-start", ts: "2026-05-06T10:00:00Z" })]);
-
-    const delivered: PingEvent[] = [];
-    const w = new InboxWatcher({
-      paths,
-      agent: "bob",
-      notify: async (e) => { delivered.push(e); },
-      // Chokidar mock that NEVER fires onChange — simulates a dropped event.
-      startWatcher: () => ({ async close() {} }),
-      safetyPollMs: 20,
-    });
-    await w.start();
-    expect(delivered.map((d) => d.id)).toEqual(["before-start"]);
-
-    // Append a new ping post-start, without notifying chokidar.
-    appendFileSync(
-      paths.inbox("bob"),
-      JSON.stringify(ev({ id: "after-start", ts: "2026-05-06T12:00:00Z" })) + "\n",
-    );
-
-    // Wait long enough for at least one safety-poll cycle.
-    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 80));
-    await w.stop();
-
-    expect(delivered.map((d) => d.id)).toEqual(["before-start", "after-start"]);
-    const hwm = JSON.parse(readFileSync(paths.hwm("bob"), "utf8"));
-    expect(hwm.last_delivered_ts).toBe("2026-05-06T12:00:00Z");
-  });
-
-  it("safetyPollMs: 0 disables the safety-poll timer", async () => {
-    const paths = makePaths(dir);
-    mkdirSync(paths.pingsDir, { recursive: true });
-    writeInbox(paths.inbox("bob"), [ev({ id: "a", ts: "2026-05-06T10:00:00Z" })]);
-
-    const delivered: PingEvent[] = [];
-    const w = new InboxWatcher({
-      paths,
-      agent: "bob",
-      notify: async (e) => { delivered.push(e); },
-      startWatcher: () => ({ async close() {} }),
-      safetyPollMs: 0,
-    });
-    await w.start();
-
-    // Append a ping; with no fs-event AND no safety-poll, it must NOT be delivered.
-    appendFileSync(
-      paths.inbox("bob"),
-      JSON.stringify(ev({ id: "missed", ts: "2026-05-06T11:00:00Z" })) + "\n",
-    );
-    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 50));
-    await w.stop();
-
-    expect(delivered.map((d) => d.id)).toEqual(["a"]);  // only the initial-drain ping
-  });
-
   it("skips pings already covered by HWM on restart", async () => {
     const paths = makePaths(dir);
     mkdirSync(paths.pingsDir, { recursive: true });