diff --git a/src/response_agent.py b/src/response_agent.py
index eeb4bfc..a2cfb2c 100644
--- a/src/response_agent.py
+++ b/src/response_agent.py
@@ -1001,6 +1001,10 @@ def process_issue(
     print(f"Processing {entity_type} #{issue_or_pr.number}")
 
     try:
+        if triggers.has_ignore_comment(issue_or_pr):
+            # This is a skip outcome, not an error
+            return False, f"{entity_type} #{issue_or_pr.number} contains ignore pattern"
+
         has_bot_mention = triggers.has_blech_bot_tag(issue_or_pr) \
             or '[ blech_bot ]' in (issue_or_pr.title or '').lower()
         if not has_bot_mention:
diff --git a/src/triggers.py b/src/triggers.py
index a0ef1cb..a6e0a1d 100644
--- a/src/triggers.py
+++ b/src/triggers.py
@@ -138,6 +138,20 @@ def has_error_comment(issue: Issue) -> bool:
     return 'Traceback (most recent call last):' in comments[-1].body if comments else False
 
 
+def has_ignore_comment(issue: Issue) -> bool:
+    """
+    Check if any comment contains the ignore pattern [ blech_bot ignore ]
+
+    Args:
+        issue: The GitHub issue to check
+
+    Returns:
+        True if the ignore pattern is found in any comment
+    """
+    comments = get_issue_comments(issue)
+    return any("[ blech_bot ignore ]" in comment.body for comment in comments)
+
+
 def has_user_comment_on_pr(issue: Issue) -> bool:
     """
     Check if there is a user comment on a pull request that needs processing