diff --git a/tools/db_crashtest.py b/tools/db_crashtest.py
index 6b352248d..6ef20ff40 100644
--- a/tools/db_crashtest.py
+++ b/tools/db_crashtest.py
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ def main(argv):
         dbname = tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix='rocksdb_crashtest_')
     else:
         dbname = test_tmpdir + "/rocksdb_crashtest"
+        shutil.rmtree(dbname, True)
 
     while time.time() < exit_time:
         run_had_errors = False
diff --git a/tools/db_crashtest2.py b/tools/db_crashtest2.py
index 931b73907..a74053ef7 100644
--- a/tools/db_crashtest2.py
+++ b/tools/db_crashtest2.py
@@ -77,6 +77,7 @@ def main(argv):
         dbname = tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix='rocksdb_crashtest2_')
     else:
         dbname = test_tmpdir + "/rocksdb_crashtest2"
+        shutil.rmtree(dbname, True)
 
     while time.time() < exit_time:
         killoption = ""