diff --git a/config/config.exs b/config/config.exs
index b7fa2f2..89b6b28 100644
--- a/config/config.exs
+++ b/config/config.exs
@@ -120,20 +120,6 @@ config :esbuild,
     cd: Path.expand("../assets", __DIR__)
   ]
 
-# Configure Exq for background jobs
-# Redis connection settings are configured in runtime.exs
-config :exq,
-  name: Exq,
-  concurrency: :infinite,
-  queues: [
-    {"default", 10},
-    {"maintenance", 2}
-  ],
-  scheduler_enable: true,
-  scheduler_poll_timeout: 200,
-  poll_timeout: 50,
-  redis_timeout: 5000
-
 config :gettext, :plural_forms, GettextPseudolocalize.Plural
 
 # Configures Elixir's Logger
diff --git a/config/dev.exs b/config/dev.exs
index 0e29644..471555e 100644
--- a/config/dev.exs
+++ b/config/dev.exs
@@ -74,11 +74,6 @@ config :aprsme, AprsmeWeb.Endpoint,
 # Run `mix help phx.gen.cert` for more information.
 config :aprsme, dev_routes: true
 
-# Disable Exq in development (no Redis required)
-# Jobs that would normally run in the background will be skipped
-config :exq,
-  start_on_application: false
-
 # Mailer configuration for development
 # Using Swoosh.Adapters.Local from config.exs which stores emails locally
 # Access sent emails at http://localhost:4000/dev/mailbox
diff --git a/config/runtime.exs b/config/runtime.exs
index d1e3549..e8c2c84 100644
--- a/config/runtime.exs
+++ b/config/runtime.exs
@@ -49,55 +49,6 @@ if config_env() == :prod do
   # Configure clustering based on environment
   cluster_enabled = System.get_env("CLUSTER_ENABLED", "false") == "true"
 
-  # Configure Exq with Redis connection from environment
-  redis_url = System.get_env("REDIS_URL", "redis://localhost:6379")
-  redis_uri = URI.parse(redis_url)
-  redis_host = redis_uri.host || "localhost"
-  redis_port = redis_uri.port || 6379
-
-  redis_password =
-    case redis_uri.userinfo do
-      nil ->
-        ""
-
-      userinfo ->
-        case String.split(userinfo, ":") do
-          [_, password] -> password
-          _ -> ""
-        end
-    end
-
-  # Extract database from path if present
-  redis_database =
-    try do
-      case redis_uri.path do
-        nil ->
-          0
-
-        "/" ->
-          0
-
-        path ->
-          path |> String.trim_leading("/") |> String.to_integer()
-      end
-    rescue
-      _ -> 0
-    end
-
-  exq_config = [
-    host: redis_host,
-    port: redis_port,
-    database: redis_database
-  ]
-
-  # Only add password if it's not empty
-  exq_config =
-    if redis_password != "" and redis_password != nil do
-      Keyword.put(exq_config, :password, redis_password)
-    else
-      exq_config
-    end
-
   # Parse SSL configuration from environment
   ssl_enabled = System.get_env("DATABASE_SSL", "false") == "true"
   ssl_verify = System.get_env("DATABASE_SSL_VERIFY", "true") == "true"
@@ -196,8 +147,6 @@ if config_env() == :prod do
     aprs_is_password: System.get_env("APRS_PASSCODE"),
     env: :prod
 
-  config :exq, exq_config
-
   # Configure Hammer for production environment
   config :hammer,
     backend: {Hammer.Backend.ETS, [expiry_ms: 60_000 * 60 * 4, cleanup_interval_ms: 60_000 * 10]}
diff --git a/config/test.exs b/config/test.exs
index 1d85034..a52476c 100644
--- a/config/test.exs
+++ b/config/test.exs
@@ -59,11 +59,6 @@ config :bcrypt_elixir, :log_rounds, 1
 # Disable ErrorTracker in test environment to avoid database ownership issues
 config :error_tracker, enabled: false
 
-# Disable Exq during tests to prevent background job execution
-config :exq,
-  start_on_application: false,
-  mode: :inline
-
 # Configure ExVCR
 config :exvcr,
   vcr_cassette_library_dir: "test/fixtures/vcr_cassettes",
diff --git a/lib/aprsme/cleanup_scheduler.ex b/lib/aprsme/cleanup_scheduler.ex
index aeb2d06..d338d6b 100644
--- a/lib/aprsme/cleanup_scheduler.ex
+++ b/lib/aprsme/cleanup_scheduler.ex
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 defmodule Aprsme.CleanupScheduler do
   @moduledoc """
-  GenServer that schedules periodic packet cleanup jobs using Exq.
+  GenServer that schedules periodic packet cleanup tasks.
 
-  This scheduler replaces the Oban cron functionality for packet cleanup.
-  It runs every 6 hours by default and enqueues a cleanup job.
+  This scheduler runs cleanup tasks directly every 6 hours by default
+  without requiring external job queues.
   """
 
   use GenServer
@@ -33,16 +33,17 @@ defmodule Aprsme.CleanupScheduler do
 
   @impl true
   def handle_info(:schedule_cleanup, %{interval: interval} = state) when is_integer(interval) do
-    Logger.info("Scheduling packet cleanup job")
+    Logger.info("Running packet cleanup task")
 
-    # Enqueue cleanup job with Exq
-    case Exq.enqueue(Exq, "maintenance", Aprsme.Workers.PacketCleanupWorker, []) do
-      {:ok, _job_id} ->
-        Logger.info("Packet cleanup job scheduled successfully")
-
-      {:error, reason} ->
-        Logger.error("Failed to schedule packet cleanup job: #{inspect(reason)}")
-    end
+    # Run cleanup directly in a supervised task
+    Task.start(fn ->
+      try do
+        Aprsme.Workers.PacketCleanupWorker.perform(%{})
+      rescue
+        error ->
+          Logger.error("Packet cleanup task failed: #{inspect(error)}")
+      end
+    end)
 
     schedule_next_cleanup(interval)
     {:noreply, state}
diff --git a/lib/aprsme/workers/packet_cleanup_worker.ex b/lib/aprsme/workers/packet_cleanup_worker.ex
index 8cc9bf2..85224ed 100644
--- a/lib/aprsme/workers/packet_cleanup_worker.ex
+++ b/lib/aprsme/workers/packet_cleanup_worker.ex
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 defmodule Aprsme.Workers.PacketCleanupWorker do
   @moduledoc """
-  Exq worker for cleaning up old APRS packet data.
+  Worker for cleaning up old APRS packet data.
 
   This worker is responsible for:
   1. Removing packets older than the retention period (1 year by default)
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ defmodule Aprsme.Workers.PacketCleanupWorker do
   3. Logging statistics about cleanup operations
   4. Supporting batch processing for large datasets
 
-  This worker is scheduled to run every 6 hours via Exq cron feature for more frequent,
+  This worker is scheduled to run every 6 hours for more frequent,
   smaller cleanup operations to prevent large deletion spikes.
 
   ## Functions
diff --git a/mix.exs b/mix.exs
index d87faf0..32b7f6f 100644
--- a/mix.exs
+++ b/mix.exs
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ defmodule Aprsme.MixProject do
   def application do
     [
       mod: {Aprsme.Application, []},
-      extra_applications: [:hackney, :logger, :runtime_tools, :os_mon, :exq]
+      extra_applications: [:hackney, :logger, :runtime_tools, :os_mon]
     ]
   end
 
@@ -69,7 +69,6 @@ defmodule Aprsme.MixProject do
       {:gettext, "~> 0.26.2"},
       {:jason, "~> 1.4"},
       {:libcluster, "~> 3.3"},
-      {:exq, "~> 0.20"},
       {:phoenix, "~> 1.8.0-rc.3", override: true},
       {:phoenix_ecto, "~> 4.4"},
       {:phoenix_html, "~> 4.3.0"},