diff --git a/docs/introduction/configuration.md b/docs/introduction/configuration.md
index 57c040f..0dcafd2 100644
--- a/docs/introduction/configuration.md
+++ b/docs/introduction/configuration.md
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ config = FastAPIConfig(
 )
 ```
 
-For FastAPI there is additionally:
+For FastAPI and Litestar there is additionally:
 
 - `opentelemetry_exclude_spans` - drops the ASGI `receive` and/or `send` spans, leaving only the
   server span. Empty by default, which records all three. `["receive", "send"]` is worth ~34 µs per
diff --git a/docs/introduction/performance.md b/docs/introduction/performance.md
index f4e93db..f725ca5 100644
--- a/docs/introduction/performance.md
+++ b/docs/introduction/performance.md
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ In rough order of what they return:
 |---|---|---|
 | [`opentelemetry_sampler`](configuration.md#opentelemetry), 1% ratio | ~55 µs/req | 99% of your traces |
 | `http_methods_to_capture=()` on the Sentry ASGI integrations | ~35 µs/req | Sentry-side trace correlation |
-| [`opentelemetry_exclude_spans`](configuration.md#opentelemetry), FastAPI only | ~34 µs/req | the two ASGI event spans |
+| [`opentelemetry_exclude_spans`](configuration.md#opentelemetry), FastAPI and Litestar | ~34 µs/req | the two ASGI event spans |
 | [`sentry_auto_session_tracking=False`](configuration.md#sentry) | ~7.7 µs/req | Sentry release health |
 | [`sentry_logging_breadcrumb_level=None`](configuration.md#sentry-logging-integration) | ~7 µs per log record | log breadcrumbs on errors |
 
diff --git a/lite_bootstrap/bootstrappers/fastapi_bootstrapper.py b/lite_bootstrap/bootstrappers/fastapi_bootstrapper.py
index 8f68348..0701f7f 100644
--- a/lite_bootstrap/bootstrappers/fastapi_bootstrapper.py
+++ b/lite_bootstrap/bootstrappers/fastapi_bootstrapper.py
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ class FastAPIConfig(
 ):
     application: "fastapi.FastAPI | UnsetType" = UNSET
     application_kwargs: dict[str, typing.Any] = dataclasses.field(default_factory=dict)
-    # Not on OpenTelemetryConfig: `exclude_spans` is this instrumentor's parameter, and Litestar's has none.
+    # Not on OpenTelemetryConfig: only the FastAPI and Litestar instrumentors take `exclude_spans`.
     opentelemetry_exclude_spans: list[typing.Literal["receive", "send"]] = dataclasses.field(default_factory=list)
     prometheus_instrumentator_params: dict[str, typing.Any] = dataclasses.field(default_factory=dict)
     prometheus_instrument_params: dict[str, typing.Any] = dataclasses.field(default_factory=dict)
diff --git a/lite_bootstrap/bootstrappers/litestar_bootstrapper.py b/lite_bootstrap/bootstrappers/litestar_bootstrapper.py
index c2c73d0..839c605 100644
--- a/lite_bootstrap/bootstrappers/litestar_bootstrapper.py
+++ b/lite_bootstrap/bootstrappers/litestar_bootstrapper.py
@@ -123,6 +123,7 @@ class LitestarConfig(
     application_config: "AppConfig" = dataclasses.field(default_factory=lambda: AppConfig())  # noqa: PLW0108
     litestar_logging_middleware_config: "LoggingMiddlewareConfig | None" = None
     litestar_logging_middleware_enabled: bool = False
+    opentelemetry_exclude_spans: list[typing.Literal["receive", "send"]] = dataclasses.field(default_factory=list)
     prometheus_additional_params: dict[str, typing.Any] = dataclasses.field(default_factory=dict)
     # Bounds path-label cardinality (Litestar defaults False -> raw URLs leak memory). See litestar#4891.
     prometheus_group_path: bool = True
@@ -237,6 +238,7 @@ def bootstrap(self) -> None:
                     scope_span_details_extractor=build_litestar_route_details_from_scope,
                     # An empty list compiles to a pattern that matches, and so skips, every path
                     exclude=self._build_excluded_path_patterns() or None,
+                    exclude_spans=self.bootstrap_config.opentelemetry_exclude_spans,
                 )
             )
         )
diff --git a/tests/test_litestar_bootstrap.py b/tests/test_litestar_bootstrap.py
index b3f55de..81073b3 100644
--- a/tests/test_litestar_bootstrap.py
+++ b/tests/test_litestar_bootstrap.py
@@ -605,6 +605,31 @@ async def get_user(user_id: int) -> dict[str, int]:
     assert server_spans[0].attributes["http.route"] == "/users/{user_id}"
 
 
+def _span_kinds_for_one_request(config: LitestarConfig) -> list[SpanKind]:
+    @litestar.get("/items")
+    async def get_items() -> list[int]:
+        return [1]
+
+    config = dataclasses.replace(config, application_config=AppConfig(route_handlers=[get_items]))
+    application, exporter = _bootstrap_with_span_exporter(config)
+
+    with TestClient(app=application) as client:
+        assert client.get("/items").status_code == status_codes.HTTP_200_OK
+
+    return sorted((span.kind for span in exporter.get_finished_spans()), key=lambda kind: kind.value)
+
+
+def test_litestar_otel_exclude_spans_defaults_to_recording_them(litestar_config: LitestarConfig) -> None:
+    """The default keeps the ASGI event spans a trace view shows today; dropping them is opt-in."""
+    assert SpanKind.INTERNAL in _span_kinds_for_one_request(litestar_config)
+
+
+def test_litestar_otel_exclude_spans_leaves_only_the_server_span(litestar_config: LitestarConfig) -> None:
+    config = dataclasses.replace(litestar_config, opentelemetry_exclude_spans=["receive", "send"])
+
+    assert _span_kinds_for_one_request(config) == [SpanKind.SERVER]
+
+
 def test_litestar_otel_unmatched_path_span_is_named_by_method_only(litestar_config: LitestarConfig) -> None:
     """A 404 never reaches the route stack, so its span must not carry the raw path that scanners vary."""
     application, exporter = _bootstrap_with_span_exporter(litestar_config)