diff --git a/LibreNMS/IRCBot.php b/LibreNMS/IRCBot.php
index 53c01542a5..fbc0f01cf4 100644
--- a/LibreNMS/IRCBot.php
+++ b/LibreNMS/IRCBot.php
@@ -158,7 +158,11 @@ class IRCBot
     private function init()
     {
         if ($this->config['irc_alert']) {
-            $this->connectAlert();
+            if (! $this->connectAlert()) {
+                sleep(5);
+
+                return false;
+            }
         }
 
         $this->last_activity = time();
@@ -205,6 +209,7 @@ class IRCBot
 
             usleep($this->tick);
         }
+        sleep(10);
 
         return $this->init();
     }