diff --git a/lib/towerops/application.ex b/lib/towerops/application.ex
index 36bbc4f2..f9be1d3e 100644
--- a/lib/towerops/application.ex
+++ b/lib/towerops/application.ex
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ defmodule Towerops.Application do
       port: Keyword.get(redis_config, :port, 6379),
       namespace: "exq",
       concurrency: 10,
-      queues: ["default", "discovery", "polling", "maintenance"]
+      queues: ["default", "discovery", "polling", "monitoring", "maintenance"]
     ]
   end
 
diff --git a/lib/towerops/monitoring/device_monitor.ex b/lib/towerops/monitoring/device_monitor.ex
index 8dbfa78c..0c67ab66 100644
--- a/lib/towerops/monitoring/device_monitor.ex
+++ b/lib/towerops/monitoring/device_monitor.ex
@@ -37,8 +37,8 @@ defmodule Towerops.Monitoring.DeviceMonitor do
         GenServer.cast(via_tuple(device_id), :check_now)
 
       [] ->
-        # Process doesn't exist (monitoring disabled), perform check directly
-        Task.start(fn -> perform_check(device_id) end)
+        # Process doesn't exist (monitoring disabled), enqueue check job
+        enqueue_check(device_id)
     end
   end
 
@@ -215,6 +215,17 @@ defmodule Towerops.Monitoring.DeviceMonitor do
     Process.send_after(self(), :check_device, interval_seconds * 1000)
   end
 
+  # Enqueue monitoring check job - safe to call in test environment
+  defp enqueue_check(device_id) do
+    if Application.get_env(:towerops, :env) == :test do
+      # In test, run synchronously
+      Task.start(fn -> perform_check(device_id) end)
+    else
+      # In dev/prod, enqueue to Exq
+      {:ok, _job} = Exq.enqueue(Exq, "monitoring", Towerops.Workers.MonitorWorker, [device_id])
+    end
+  end
+
   defp via_tuple(device_id) do
     {:via, Registry, {Towerops.Monitoring.Registry, device_id}}
   end
diff --git a/lib/towerops/snmp/poller_worker.ex b/lib/towerops/snmp/poller_worker.ex
index c4fe0329..127b1481 100644
--- a/lib/towerops/snmp/poller_worker.ex
+++ b/lib/towerops/snmp/poller_worker.ex
@@ -41,8 +41,8 @@ defmodule Towerops.Snmp.PollerWorker do
         GenServer.cast(via_tuple(device_id), :poll_now)
 
       [] ->
-        # Process doesn't exist, perform poll directly in background
-        Task.start(fn -> perform_poll(device_id) end)
+        # Process doesn't exist, enqueue poll job
+        enqueue_poll(device_id)
     end
   end
 
@@ -960,6 +960,17 @@ defmodule Towerops.Snmp.PollerWorker do
 
   defp format_sensor_value(_, _), do: "N/A"
 
+  # Enqueue poll job - safe to call in test environment
+  defp enqueue_poll(device_id) do
+    if Application.get_env(:towerops, :env) == :test do
+      # In test, run synchronously
+      Task.start(fn -> perform_poll(device_id) end)
+    else
+      # In dev/prod, enqueue to Exq
+      {:ok, _job} = Exq.enqueue(Exq, "polling", Towerops.Workers.PollWorker, [device_id])
+    end
+  end
+
   defp via_tuple(device_id) do
     {:via, Registry, {PollerRegistry, device_id}}
   end
diff --git a/lib/towerops/workers/monitor_worker.ex b/lib/towerops/workers/monitor_worker.ex
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8677780f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/towerops/workers/monitor_worker.ex
@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+defmodule Towerops.Workers.MonitorWorker do
+  @moduledoc """
+  Background worker for device monitoring checks (ICMP pings).
+
+  Enqueued when:
+  - trigger_check is called but the DeviceMonitor GenServer doesn't exist
+  - Manual monitoring check trigger from UI
+
+  Queue: monitoring
+  """
+
+  alias Towerops.Devices
+  alias Towerops.Monitoring
+
+  require Logger
+
+  @doc """
+  Performs a monitoring check for a device.
+
+  ## Parameters
+  - device_id: The UUID of the device to check
+
+  ## Returns
+  - :ok on success
+  - {:error, reason} on failure
+  """
+  def perform(device_id) do
+    Logger.info("Starting monitoring check for device #{device_id}")
+
+    device = Devices.get_device!(device_id)
+
+    if device.monitoring_enabled do
+      case ping_device(device) do
+        {:ok, latency} ->
+          Logger.debug("Device #{device_id} is up, latency: #{latency}ms")
+
+          Monitoring.create_check(%{
+            device_id: device_id,
+            status: "up",
+            latency_ms: latency,
+            checked_at: DateTime.utc_now()
+          })
+
+          :ok
+
+        {:error, reason} ->
+          Logger.warning("Device #{device_id} is down: #{inspect(reason)}")
+
+          Monitoring.create_check(%{
+            device_id: device_id,
+            status: "down",
+            latency_ms: nil,
+            checked_at: DateTime.utc_now()
+          })
+
+          :ok
+      end
+    else
+      Logger.debug("Device #{device_id} does not have monitoring enabled, skipping check")
+      :ok
+    end
+  rescue
+    Ecto.NoResultsError ->
+      Logger.error("Device #{device_id} not found")
+      {:error, :device_not_found}
+
+    error ->
+      Logger.error("Monitoring check failed for device #{device_id}: #{inspect(error)}")
+      {:error, error}
+  end
+
+  defp ping_device(device) do
+    # Use system ping command (works on most Unix-like systems)
+    case System.cmd("ping", ["-c", "1", "-W", "1", device.ip_address], stderr_to_stdout: true) do
+      {output, 0} ->
+        # Extract latency from ping output
+        latency = extract_latency(output)
+        {:ok, latency}
+
+      {_output, _status} ->
+        {:error, :timeout}
+    end
+  rescue
+    error ->
+      {:error, error}
+  end
+
+  defp extract_latency(output) do
+    # Parse ping output to extract latency
+    # Example: "time=1.234 ms"
+    case Regex.run(~r/time=([\d.]+)/, output) do
+      [_, latency_str] ->
+        case Float.parse(latency_str) do
+          {latency, _} -> latency
+          :error -> 0.0
+        end
+
+      nil ->
+        0.0
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/towerops/workers/poll_worker.ex b/lib/towerops/workers/poll_worker.ex
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b9cb227d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/towerops/workers/poll_worker.ex
@@ -0,0 +1,177 @@
+defmodule Towerops.Workers.PollWorker do
+  @moduledoc """
+  Background worker for SNMP polling.
+
+  Enqueued when:
+  - trigger_poll is called but the PollerWorker GenServer doesn't exist
+  - Manual poll trigger from UI
+
+  Queue: polling
+  """
+
+  alias Towerops.Devices
+  alias Towerops.Snmp
+  alias Towerops.Snmp.Client
+  alias Towerops.Snmp.NeighborDiscovery
+
+  require Logger
+
+  @doc """
+  Performs SNMP polling for a device.
+
+  ## Parameters
+  - device_id: The UUID of the device to poll
+
+  ## Returns
+  - :ok on success
+  - {:error, reason} on failure
+  """
+  def perform(device_id) do
+    Logger.info("Starting SNMP poll for device #{device_id}")
+
+    device = Devices.get_device!(device_id)
+
+    if device.snmp_enabled do
+      poll_device(device_id, device)
+      :ok
+    else
+      Logger.debug("Device #{device_id} does not have SNMP enabled, skipping poll")
+      :ok
+    end
+  rescue
+    Ecto.NoResultsError ->
+      Logger.error("Device #{device_id} not found")
+      {:error, :device_not_found}
+
+    error ->
+      Logger.error("SNMP poll failed for device #{device_id}: #{inspect(error)}")
+      {:error, error}
+  end
+
+  defp poll_device(device_id, device) do
+    snmp_device = Snmp.get_device_with_associations(device_id)
+
+    if snmp_device do
+      perform_device_data_collection(device, snmp_device)
+    else
+      Logger.debug("No SNMP device found for #{device_id}, skipping poll")
+    end
+  end
+
+  defp perform_device_data_collection(device, snmp_device) do
+    Devices.update_snmp_poll_time(device)
+
+    client_opts = build_client_opts(device)
+    now = DateTime.truncate(DateTime.utc_now(), :second)
+
+    poll_sensors(snmp_device.sensors, client_opts, now)
+    poll_interfaces(snmp_device.interfaces, client_opts, now)
+    poll_neighbors(device, snmp_device, client_opts)
+
+    Logger.info("SNMP poll completed for device #{device.id}")
+  end
+
+  defp poll_sensors(sensors, client_opts, timestamp) do
+    Enum.each(sensors, fn sensor ->
+      case poll_sensor(sensor, client_opts) do
+        {:ok, value} ->
+          Snmp.create_sensor_reading(%{
+            sensor_id: sensor.id,
+            value: value,
+            status: "ok",
+            checked_at: timestamp
+          })
+
+          Snmp.update_sensor(sensor, %{
+            last_value: value,
+            last_checked_at: timestamp
+          })
+
+        {:error, _reason} ->
+          Snmp.create_sensor_reading(%{
+            sensor_id: sensor.id,
+            value: nil,
+            status: "error",
+            checked_at: timestamp
+          })
+      end
+    end)
+  end
+
+  defp poll_sensor(sensor, client_opts) do
+    case Client.get(client_opts, sensor.sensor_oid) do
+      {:ok, raw_value} when is_number(raw_value) ->
+        value = raw_value / sensor.sensor_divisor
+        {:ok, value}
+
+      {:error, reason} ->
+        {:error, reason}
+
+      _ ->
+        {:error, :non_numeric}
+    end
+  end
+
+  defp poll_interfaces(interfaces, client_opts, timestamp) do
+    Enum.each(interfaces, fn interface ->
+      {:ok, stat_data} = get_interface_stats(client_opts, interface.if_index)
+
+      stats =
+        Map.merge(stat_data, %{
+          interface_id: interface.id,
+          checked_at: timestamp
+        })
+
+      Snmp.create_interface_stat(stats)
+    end)
+  end
+
+  defp get_interface_stats(client_opts, if_index) do
+    oids = [
+      if_in_octets: "1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2.1.10.#{if_index}",
+      if_out_octets: "1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2.1.16.#{if_index}",
+      if_in_errors: "1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2.1.14.#{if_index}",
+      if_out_errors: "1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2.1.20.#{if_index}",
+      if_in_discards: "1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2.1.13.#{if_index}",
+      if_out_discards: "1.3.6.1.2.1.2.2.1.19.#{if_index}"
+    ]
+
+    results =
+      Enum.map(oids, fn {key, oid} ->
+        case Client.get(client_opts, oid) do
+          {:ok, value} when is_number(value) -> {key, value}
+          _ -> {key, nil}
+        end
+      end)
+
+    {:ok, Map.new(results)}
+  end
+
+  defp poll_neighbors(device, snmp_device, client_opts) do
+    interfaces_with_device = Enum.map(snmp_device.interfaces, &Map.put(&1, :device_id, snmp_device.id))
+
+    {:ok, neighbors} = NeighborDiscovery.discover_neighbors(client_opts, interfaces_with_device)
+
+    cutoff = DateTime.add(DateTime.utc_now(), -5, :minute)
+    Snmp.delete_stale_neighbors(device.id, cutoff)
+
+    Enum.each(neighbors, fn neighbor_data ->
+      Snmp.upsert_neighbor(neighbor_data)
+    end)
+  rescue
+    error ->
+      Logger.error("Error polling neighbors: #{inspect(error)}")
+  end
+
+  defp build_client_opts(device) do
+    snmp_config = Devices.get_snmp_config(device)
+
+    [
+      ip: device.ip_address,
+      community: snmp_config.community,
+      version: snmp_config.version,
+      port: device.snmp_port || 161,
+      timeout: 5000
+    ]
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/towerops_web/channels/agent_channel.ex b/lib/towerops_web/channels/agent_channel.ex
index 726bed22..8f2f70f0 100644
--- a/lib/towerops_web/channels/agent_channel.ex
+++ b/lib/towerops_web/channels/agent_channel.ex
@@ -317,15 +317,7 @@ defmodule ToweropsWeb.AgentChannel do
     # - Server does SNMP queries and parsing using existing logic
     Logger.info("Discovery results received for #{device.name}, triggering full discovery")
 
-    Task.start(fn ->
-      case Discovery.discover_device(device) do
-        {:ok, _device} ->
-          Logger.info("Full discovery completed for #{device.name}")
-
-        {:error, reason} ->
-          Logger.error("Discovery failed for #{device.name}: #{inspect(reason)}")
-      end
-    end)
+    enqueue_discovery(device.id)
   end
 
   defp process_polling_result(device, result) do
@@ -365,6 +357,17 @@ defmodule ToweropsWeb.AgentChannel do
     # since it requires complex LLDP/CDP parsing
   end
 
+  # Enqueue discovery job - safe to call in test environment
+  defp enqueue_discovery(device_id) do
+    if Application.get_env(:towerops, :env) == :test do
+      # In test, run synchronously
+      Task.start(fn -> Discovery.discover_device(Devices.get_device!(device_id)) end)
+    else
+      # In dev/prod, enqueue to Exq
+      {:ok, _job} = Exq.enqueue(Exq, "discovery", Towerops.Workers.DiscoveryWorker, [device_id])
+    end
+  end
+
   defp parse_integer(nil), do: nil
   defp parse_integer(value) when is_integer(value), do: value