diff --git a/pkg/imagemanager/distillfs/daemon.go b/pkg/imagemanager/distillfs/daemon.go
index 91bf049..ec31d56 100644
--- a/pkg/imagemanager/distillfs/daemon.go
+++ b/pkg/imagemanager/distillfs/daemon.go
@@ -397,16 +397,18 @@ func (d *Daemon) shouldRemount() bool {
 }
 
 func (d *Daemon) startWatch() {
-	d.watcherActive.Store(true)
-	go d.watch()
+	if !d.watcherActive.CompareAndSwap(false, true) {
+		return
+	}
+	go d.watch(d.stopChan, d.kickStop)
 }
 
-func (d *Daemon) watch() {
+func (d *Daemon) watch(stopChan chan struct{}, kickStop *Stopper) {
 	ticker := time.NewTicker(5 * time.Second)
 	defer func() {
 		ticker.Stop()
 		logrus.WithFields(d.daemonLogFields()).Info("daemon exited")
-		close(d.stopChan)
+		close(stopChan)
 		// Set watcherActive to false before remount
 		// remount will call startWatch() which sets it back to true
 		d.watcherActive.Store(false)
@@ -421,7 +423,7 @@ func (d *Daemon) watch() {
 			if !d.tick() {
 				return
 			}
-		case <-d.kickStop.Done():
+		case <-kickStop.Done():
 			for d.IsAlive() {
 				time.Sleep(10 * time.Millisecond)
 			}
diff --git a/pkg/imagemanager/distillfs/daemon_test.go b/pkg/imagemanager/distillfs/daemon_test.go
index 6406d21..a754891 100644
--- a/pkg/imagemanager/distillfs/daemon_test.go
+++ b/pkg/imagemanager/distillfs/daemon_test.go
@@ -508,6 +508,34 @@ func newMockDaemon(tmpDir string) *mockDaemon {
 	return mock
 }
 
+func TestDaemon_StartWatchOnlyOnce(t *testing.T) {
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	mock := newMockDaemon(tmpDir)
+	mock.stopChan = make(chan struct{})
+	mock.kickStop = NewStopper()
+	mock.mockIsAlive = func() bool { return false }
+	mock.setState(DaemonStateUnmounting)
+
+	for i := 0; i < 10; i++ {
+		mock.startWatch()
+	}
+	mock.kickStop.Close()
+
+	select {
+	case <-mock.stopChan:
+	case <-time.After(time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("watcher did not stop")
+	}
+
+	deadline := time.Now().Add(time.Second)
+	for mock.watcherActive.Load() && time.Now().Before(deadline) {
+		time.Sleep(time.Millisecond)
+	}
+	if mock.watcherActive.Load() {
+		t.Fatal("watcher remained active after stopping")
+	}
+}
+
 func TestDaemonApplyConfigProtectsCredentials(t *testing.T) {
 	mock := newMockDaemon(t.TempDir())
 	mock.config = &BackendConfig{