diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9efdbe4..2baac77 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rcaloras/bash-preexec/master/bash-preexec
 echo '[[ -f ~/.bash-preexec.sh ]] && source ~/.bash-preexec.sh' >> ~/.bashrc
 ```
 
+NOTE: this script may change your `HISTCONTROL` value by removing `ignorespace` and/or replacing `ignoreboth` with `ignoredups`.  See [`HISTCONTROL` interaction](#histcontrol-interaction) for details.
+
 ## Usage
 Two functions **preexec** and **precmd** can now be defined and they'll be automatically invoked by bash-preexec if they exist.
 
@@ -91,6 +93,10 @@ export __bp_enable_subshells="true"
 ```
 This is disabled by default due to buggy situations related to to `functrace` and Bash's `DEBUG trap`. See [Issue #25](https://github.com/rcaloras/bash-preexec/issues/25)
 
+## `HISTCONTROL` interaction
+
+In order to be able to provide the last command text to the `preexec` hook, this script will remove `ignorespace` and/or will replace `ignoreboth` with `ignoredups` in your `HISTCONTROL` variable.  It will remember if `HISTCONTROL` has been modified and will remove the last command from the history "manually", after reading the last command from the history list.  This may cause issues when you have scripts that rely on the literal value of `HISTCONTROL` or manipulate history in their own ways.
+
 ## Library authors
 If you want to detect bash-preexec in your library (for example, to add hooks to `preexec_functions` when available), use the Bash variable `bash_preexec_imported`:
 
diff --git a/bash-preexec.sh b/bash-preexec.sh
index 5bb11b6..a512a92 100644
--- a/bash-preexec.sh
+++ b/bash-preexec.sh
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ __bp_imported="${bash_preexec_imported}"
 __bp_last_ret_value="$?"
 BP_PIPESTATUS=("${PIPESTATUS[@]}")
 __bp_last_argument_prev_command="$_"
+__bp_ignorespace=
 
 __bp_inside_precmd=0
 __bp_inside_preexec=0
@@ -85,18 +86,26 @@ __bp_require_not_readonly() {
   done
 }
 
-# Remove ignorespace and or replace ignoreboth from HISTCONTROL
-# so we can accurately invoke preexec with a command from our
-# history even if it starts with a space.
+# Remove "ignorespace" and/or replace "ignoreboth" in HISTCONTROL so we can
+# accurately invoke preexec with a command from our history even if it starts
+# with a space.  We then remove commands that start with a space from the
+# history "manually", if either "ignorespace" or "ignoreboth" was part of
+# HISTCONTROL.
 __bp_adjust_histcontrol() {
     local histcontrol
-    histcontrol="${HISTCONTROL:-}"
-    histcontrol="${histcontrol//ignorespace}"
-    # Replace ignoreboth with ignoredups
-    if [[ "$histcontrol" == *"ignoreboth"* ]]; then
-        histcontrol="ignoredups:${histcontrol//ignoreboth}"
-    fi;
-    export HISTCONTROL="$histcontrol"
+    histcontrol=${HISTCONTROL:-}
+    histcontrol=":${histcontrol//:/::}:"
+
+    if [[ "$histcontrol" == *":ignorespace:"* || "$histcontrol" == *":ignoreboth:"* ]]; then
+      __bp_ignorespace=yes
+    fi
+
+    histcontrol=${histcontrol//:ignorespace:}
+    histcontrol=${histcontrol//:ignoreboth:/:ignoredups:}
+
+    histcontrol=${histcontrol//::/:}
+    histcontrol=${histcontrol#:}
+    export HISTCONTROL=${histcontrol%:}
 }
 
 # This variable describes whether we are currently in "interactive mode";
@@ -260,6 +269,23 @@ __bp_preexec_invoke_exec() {
         return
     fi
 
+    # If we have removed "ignorespace" or "ignoreboth" from HISTCONTROL
+    # during setup, we need to remove commands that start with a space from
+    # the history ourselves.
+
+    # With bash 5.0 or above, we could have just ran
+    #
+    #   builtin history -d -1
+    #
+    # Negative indices for `-d` are not supported before 5.0, so we compute the
+    # length of the history list explicit, to delete the last entry.
+    if [[ -n "$__bp_ignorespace" && "$this_command" == " "* ]]; then
+        builtin history -d "$(
+            export LC_ALL=C
+            HISTTIMEFORMAT= history 1 | sed '1 s/^ *\([0-9][0-9]*\).*/\1/'
+        )"
+    fi
+
     # Invoke every function defined in our function array.
     local preexec_function
     local preexec_function_ret_value
diff --git a/test/bash-preexec.bats b/test/bash-preexec.bats
index 152d5a6..27521f3 100644
--- a/test/bash-preexec.bats
+++ b/test/bash-preexec.bats
@@ -333,18 +333,17 @@ set_exit_code_and_run_precmd() {
     # Should remove ignorespace
     HISTCONTROL="ignorespace:ignoredups:*"
     __bp_adjust_histcontrol
-    [ "$HISTCONTROL" == ":ignoredups:*" ]
+    [ "$HISTCONTROL" == "ignoredups:*" ]
 
     # Should remove ignoreboth and replace it with ignoredups
     HISTCONTROL="ignoreboth"
     __bp_adjust_histcontrol
-    [ "$HISTCONTROL" == "ignoredups:" ]
+    [ "$HISTCONTROL" == "ignoredups" ]
 
     # Handle a few inputs
     HISTCONTROL="ignoreboth:ignorespace:some_thing_else"
     __bp_adjust_histcontrol
-    echo "$HISTCONTROL"
-    [ "$HISTCONTROL" == "ignoredups:::some_thing_else" ]
+    [ "$HISTCONTROL" == "ignoredups:some_thing_else" ]
 
 }
 
@@ -367,6 +366,7 @@ set_exit_code_and_run_precmd() {
 
     run '__bp_preexec_invoke_exec'
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
+    echo "__bp_preexec_invoke_exec: output: '$output'"
     [ "$output" == " this command has whitespace " ]
 }
 
@@ -389,3 +389,33 @@ a multiline string'" ]
     [ $status -eq 0 ]
     [ "$output" == '-n' ]
 }
+
+@test "HISTCONTROL is updated, but ignorespace functionality is honoured" {
+    preexec_functions+=(test_preexec_echo)
+    HISTCONTROL=ignorespace:ignoreboth
+
+    __bp_adjust_histcontrol
+
+    [[ "$HISTCONTROL" == "ignoredups" ]]
+
+    __bp_interactive_mode
+
+    command1="this command is in the history"
+
+    history -s "$command1"
+    run '__bp_preexec_invoke_exec'
+    [[ $status == 0 ]]
+    [[ "$output" == "$command1" ]]
+    last_history=$(HISTTIMEFORMAT= history 1 | sed '1 s/^ *[0-9][0-9]* *//')
+    [[ "$last_history" == "$command1" ]]
+
+    command2=" this should not be in the history"
+
+    history -s "$command2"
+    # we need to extract command history in the subshell, as the parent shell
+    # history is actually not affected.
+    output=$(__bp_preexec_invoke_exec && \
+        printf "last_history: %s\n" "$(HISTTIMEFORMAT= history 1 | sed '1 s/^ *[0-9][0-9]* *//')" )
+    [[ $status == 0 ]]
+    [[ "$output" == "$command2"$'\n'"last_history: $command1" ]]
+}