diff --git a/lua/sshfs/lib/mount_point.lua b/lua/sshfs/lib/mount_point.lua
index 6e9cd47..d8a8e39 100644
--- a/lua/sshfs/lib/mount_point.lua
+++ b/lua/sshfs/lib/mount_point.lua
@@ -285,9 +285,14 @@ function MountPoint.cleanup_stale()
     if vim.fn.isdirectory(file) == 1 then
       -- Only remove if directory is empty AND not actively mounted
       if Directory.is_empty(file) and not MountPoint.is_active(file) then
-        MountPoint.unmount(file)
-        local success = pcall(vim.fn.delete, file, "d")
-        if success then removed_count = removed_count + 1 end
+        -- Plain rmdir first; only a mount the table did not report needs unmounting.
+        local ok, result = pcall(vim.fn.delete, file, "d")
+        if not (ok and result == 0) then
+          MountPoint.unmount(file)
+          pcall(vim.fn.delete, file, "d")
+        end
+        -- unmount() removes the directory itself, so count what is gone, not what returned 0.
+        if vim.fn.isdirectory(file) == 0 then removed_count = removed_count + 1 end
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/tests/cleanup_stale_spec.lua b/tests/cleanup_stale_spec.lua
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9d1865c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/cleanup_stale_spec.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+-- tests/cleanup_stale_spec.lua
+-- Startup sweep of leftover mount directories
+--
+-- setup() runs this, so it must not shell out through the unmount escalation
+-- for a directory that is merely empty.
+
+--- Build a base dir holding one empty directory, and load MountPoint against it
+--- @return table MountPoint, string base_dir, table unmount_attempts
+local function sweep_with(opts)
+  stub.reload()
+  local base_dir = vim.fn.tempname()
+  vim.fn.mkdir(base_dir .. "/leftover", "p")
+  require("sshfs.config").setup({ mounts = { base_dir = base_dir } })
+
+  stub.executable({ fusermount = true, umount = true })
+
+  local attempts = {}
+  stub.set("system", function(cmd)
+    table.insert(attempts, table.concat(cmd, " "))
+    return {
+      wait = function()
+        return { code = 0, stdout = "", stderr = "" }
+      end,
+    }
+  end)
+  -- An empty mount table means nothing is active.
+  stub.set("fn.system", function()
+    return ""
+  end)
+
+  if opts and opts.delete_fails then
+    local real_delete = vim.fn.delete
+    local calls = 0
+    stub.set("fn.delete", function(path, flags)
+      calls = calls + 1
+      if calls == 1 then return -1 end
+      return real_delete(path, flags)
+    end)
+  end
+
+  return require("sshfs.lib.mount_point"), base_dir, attempts
+end
+
+describe("MountPoint.cleanup_stale", function()
+  it("removes an empty leftover without spawning an unmount", function()
+    local MountPoint, base_dir, attempts = sweep_with()
+
+    local removed = MountPoint.cleanup_stale()
+    stub.restore_all()
+
+    expect.eq(removed, 1)
+    expect.eq(#attempts, 0, "an empty directory was never mounted")
+    expect.eq(vim.fn.isdirectory(base_dir .. "/leftover"), 0)
+    vim.fn.delete(base_dir, "rf")
+  end)
+
+  it("falls back to unmounting when the directory will not go away", function()
+    local MountPoint, base_dir, attempts = sweep_with({ delete_fails = true })
+
+    local removed = MountPoint.cleanup_stale()
+    stub.restore_all()
+
+    expect.eq(removed, 1, "the retry after unmounting must count")
+    expect.truthy(#attempts > 0, "a directory that resists rmdir may still be mounted")
+    vim.fn.delete(base_dir, "rf")
+  end)
+end)