diff --git a/qa/pull-tester/pull-tester.sh b/qa/pull-tester/pull-tester.sh
index bbee92967..d3356f736 100755
--- a/qa/pull-tester/pull-tester.sh
+++ b/qa/pull-tester/pull-tester.sh
@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@ if [ $# -lt 1 ]; then
   echo "usage: $0 [bitcoin srcroot] build-test arguments..."
 fi
 
+killall -q bitcoin-cli
+killall -q bitcoind
+
 cd $1
 shift