diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5972d8e..ac39a2c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -49,12 +49,16 @@ Two modes of authentication are supported:
 
 ## Command Line Options
 
-| Flag            | Description                          | Default                                    |
-|-----------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|
-| `-kubeconfig`   | Path to kubeconfig file              | Uses in-cluster config or `~/.kube/config` |
-| `-namespace`    | Namespace to monitor (empty for all) | `""` (all namespaces)                      |
-| `-workers`      | Number of worker goroutines          | `2`                                        |
-| `-metrics-port` | Port number for Prometheus metrics   | 9090                                       |
+| Flag                  | Description                                                   | Default                                    |
+|-----------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|
+| `-kubeconfig`         | Path to kubeconfig file                                       | Uses in-cluster config or `~/.kube/config` |
+| `-namespace`          | Namespace to monitor (empty for all)                          | `""` (all namespaces)                      |
+| `-exclude-namespaces` | Comma-separated list of namespaces to exclude (empty for all) | `""` (all namespaces)                      |
+| `-workers`            | Number of worker goroutines                                   | `2`                                        |
+| `-metrics-port`       | Port number for Prometheus metrics                            | 9090                                       |
+
+> [!NOTE]
+> The `-namespace` and `-exclude-namespaces` flags cannot be used together.
 
 ## Environment Variables
 
diff --git a/cmd/deployment-tracker/main.go b/cmd/deployment-tracker/main.go
index b2a18f3..d4fc349 100644
--- a/cmd/deployment-tracker/main.go
+++ b/cmd/deployment-tracker/main.go
@@ -33,18 +33,26 @@ func getEnvOrDefault(key, defaultValue string) string {
 
 func main() {
 	var (
-		kubeconfig  string
-		namespace   string
-		workers     int
-		metricsPort string
+		kubeconfig        string
+		namespace         string
+		excludeNamespaces string
+		workers           int
+		metricsPort       string
 	)
 
 	flag.StringVar(&kubeconfig, "kubeconfig", "", "path to kubeconfig file (uses in-cluster config if not set)")
 	flag.StringVar(&namespace, "namespace", "", "namespace to monitor (empty for all namespaces)")
+	flag.StringVar(&excludeNamespaces, "exclude-namespaces", "", "comma separated list of namespaces to exclude from monitoring (empty to include all namespaces)")
 	flag.IntVar(&workers, "workers", 2, "number of worker goroutines")
 	flag.StringVar(&metricsPort, "metrics-port", "9090", "port to listen to for metrics")
 	flag.Parse()
 
+	// Cannot use both
+	if namespace != "" && excludeNamespaces != "" {
+		slog.Error("Cannot set both -namespace and -exclude-namespaces")
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+
 	// Validate worker count
 	if workers < 1 || workers > 100 {
 		slog.Error("Invalid worker count, must be between 1 and 100",
@@ -143,7 +151,7 @@ func main() {
 		cancel()
 	}()
 
-	cntrl, err := controller.New(clientset, namespace, &cntrlCfg)
+	cntrl, err := controller.New(clientset, namespace, excludeNamespaces, &cntrlCfg)
 	if err != nil {
 		slog.Error("Failed to create controller",
 			"error", err)
diff --git a/internal/controller/controller.go b/internal/controller/controller.go
index 4a0655b..2319110 100644
--- a/internal/controller/controller.go
+++ b/internal/controller/controller.go
@@ -52,20 +52,9 @@ type Controller struct {
 }
 
 // New creates a new deployment tracker controller.
-func New(clientset kubernetes.Interface, namespace string, cfg *Config) (*Controller, error) {
+func New(clientset kubernetes.Interface, namespace string, excludeNamespaces string, cfg *Config) (*Controller, error) {
 	// Create informer factory
-	var factory informers.SharedInformerFactory
-	if namespace == "" {
-		factory = informers.NewSharedInformerFactory(clientset,
-			30*time.Second,
-		)
-	} else {
-		factory = informers.NewSharedInformerFactoryWithOptions(
-			clientset,
-			30*time.Second,
-			informers.WithNamespace(namespace),
-		)
-	}
+	factory := createInformerFactory(clientset, namespace, excludeNamespaces)
 
 	podInformer := factory.Core().V1().Pods().Informer()
 
@@ -488,6 +477,56 @@ func getCacheKey(dn, digest string) string {
 	return dn + "||" + digest
 }
 
+// createInformerFactory creates a shared informer factory with the given resync period.
+// If excludeNamespaces is non-empty, it will exclude those namespaces from being watched.
+// If namespace is non-empty, it will only watch that namespace.
+func createInformerFactory(clientset kubernetes.Interface, namespace string, excludeNamespaces string) informers.SharedInformerFactory {
+	var factory informers.SharedInformerFactory
+	switch {
+	case namespace != "":
+		slog.Info("Namespace to watch",
+			"namespace",
+			namespace,
+		)
+		factory = informers.NewSharedInformerFactoryWithOptions(
+			clientset,
+			30*time.Second,
+			informers.WithNamespace(namespace),
+		)
+	case excludeNamespaces != "":
+		seenNamespaces := make(map[string]bool)
+		fieldSelectorParts := make([]string, 0)
+
+		for _, ns := range strings.Split(excludeNamespaces, ",") {
+			ns = strings.TrimSpace(ns)
+			if ns != "" && !seenNamespaces[ns] {
+				seenNamespaces[ns] = true
+				fieldSelectorParts = append(fieldSelectorParts, fmt.Sprintf("metadata.namespace!=%s", ns))
+			}
+		}
+
+		slog.Info("Excluding namespaces from watch",
+			"field_selector",
+			strings.Join(fieldSelectorParts, ","),
+		)
+		tweakListOptions := func(options *metav1.ListOptions) {
+			options.FieldSelector = strings.Join(fieldSelectorParts, ",")
+		}
+
+		factory = informers.NewSharedInformerFactoryWithOptions(
+			clientset,
+			30*time.Second,
+			informers.WithTweakListOptions(tweakListOptions),
+		)
+	default:
+		factory = informers.NewSharedInformerFactory(clientset,
+			30*time.Second,
+		)
+	}
+
+	return factory
+}
+
 // getARDeploymentName converts the pod's metadata into the correct format
 // for the deployment name for the artifact registry (this is not the same
 // as the K8s deployment's name!