diff --git a/src/slack/monitor/commands.ts b/src/slack/monitor/commands.ts
index f26be177d1d..a50b75704eb 100644
--- a/src/slack/monitor/commands.ts
+++ b/src/slack/monitor/commands.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,16 @@
 import type { SlackSlashCommandConfig } from "../../config/config.js";
 
+/**
+ * Strip Slack mentions (<@U123>, <@U123|name>) so command detection works on
+ * normalized text. Use in both prepare and debounce gate for consistency.
+ */
+export function stripSlackMentionsForCommandDetection(text: string): string {
+  return (text ?? "")
+    .replace(/<@[^>]+>/g, " ")
+    .replace(/\s+/g, " ")
+    .trim();
+}
+
 export function normalizeSlackSlashCommandName(raw: string) {
   return raw.replace(/^\/+/, "");
 }
diff --git a/src/slack/monitor/message-handler.ts b/src/slack/monitor/message-handler.ts
index f87c14ccc86..e974dbeebe3 100644
--- a/src/slack/monitor/message-handler.ts
+++ b/src/slack/monitor/message-handler.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import {
   createInboundDebouncer,
   resolveInboundDebounceMs,
 } from "../../auto-reply/inbound-debounce.js";
+import { stripSlackMentionsForCommandDetection } from "./commands.js";
 import { dispatchPreparedSlackMessage } from "./message-handler/dispatch.js";
 import { prepareSlackMessage } from "./message-handler/prepare.js";
 import { createSlackThreadTsResolver } from "./thread-resolution.js";
@@ -50,7 +51,8 @@ export function createSlackMessageHandler(params: {
       if (entry.message.files && entry.message.files.length > 0) {
         return false;
       }
-      return !hasControlCommand(text, ctx.cfg);
+      const textForCommandDetection = stripSlackMentionsForCommandDetection(text);
+      return !hasControlCommand(textForCommandDetection, ctx.cfg);
     },
     onFlush: async (entries) => {
       const last = entries.at(-1);
diff --git a/src/slack/monitor/message-handler/prepare.ts b/src/slack/monitor/message-handler/prepare.ts
index 850b425cc34..900a0484c9b 100644
--- a/src/slack/monitor/message-handler/prepare.ts
+++ b/src/slack/monitor/message-handler/prepare.ts
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ import { resolveSlackThreadContext } from "../../threading.js";
 import { resolveSlackAllowListMatch, resolveSlackUserAllowed } from "../allow-list.js";
 import { resolveSlackEffectiveAllowFrom } from "../auth.js";
 import { resolveSlackChannelConfig } from "../channel-config.js";
+import { stripSlackMentionsForCommandDetection } from "../commands.js";
 import { normalizeSlackChannelType, type SlackMonitorContext } from "../context.js";
 import { resolveSlackMedia, resolveSlackThreadStarter } from "../media.js";
 
@@ -250,10 +251,7 @@ export async function prepareSlackMessage(params: {
     surface: "slack",
   });
   // Strip Slack mentions (<@U123>) before command detection so "@Labrador /new" is recognized
-  const textForCommandDetection = (message.text ?? "")
-    .replace(/<@[^>]+>/g, " ")
-    .replace(/\s+/g, " ")
-    .trim();
+  const textForCommandDetection = stripSlackMentionsForCommandDetection(message.text ?? "");
   const hasControlCommandInMessage = hasControlCommand(textForCommandDetection, cfg);
 
   const ownerAuthorized = resolveSlackAllowListMatch({