diff --git a/plugins/dnsbl b/plugins/dnsbl
index 051181a..7e5c0fb 100644
--- a/plugins/dnsbl
+++ b/plugins/dnsbl
@@ -51,9 +51,11 @@ sub process_sockets {
   my @ready = $sel->can_read(5);
 
   $self->log(8, "DONE waiting for dnsbl dns, got " , scalar @ready, " answers ...") ;
+  return '' unless @ready;
 
   for my $socket (@ready) {
     my $query = $res->bgread($socket);
+    $sel->remove($socket);
     undef $socket;
 
     my $dnsbl;
@@ -81,6 +83,11 @@ sub process_sockets {
 
   }
 
+  if ($sel->count) {
+    # loop around if we have dns blacklists left to see results from
+    return $self->process_sockets();
+  }
+
   # if there was more to read; then forget it
   $conn->notes('dnsbl_sockets', undef);