diff --git a/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc b/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
index 93da0220287..b7911dc31b4 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
@@ -127,6 +127,7 @@ https://github.com/elastic/beats/compare/v7.0.0-alpha2...master[Check the HEAD d
 - Fix an issue where error messages are not accurate in mapstriface. {issue}18662[18662] {pull}18663[18663]
 - Fix regression in `add_kubernetes_metadata`, so configured `indexers` and `matchers` are used if defaults are not disabled. {issue}18481[18481] {pull}18818[18818]
 - Fix potential race condition in fingerprint processor. {pull}18738[18738]
+- Add better handling for Kubernetes Update and Delete watcher events. {pull}18882[18882]
 - Fix the `translate_sid` processor's handling of unconfigured target fields. {issue}18990[18990] {pull}18991[18991]
 - Fixed a service restart failure under Windows. {issue}18914[18914] {pull}18916[18916]
 - The `monitoring.elasticsearch.api_key` value is correctly base64-encoded before being sent to the monitoring Elasticsearch cluster. {issue}18939[18939] {pull}18945[18945]
diff --git a/libbeat/autodiscover/autodiscover.go b/libbeat/autodiscover/autodiscover.go
index 974beb7253a..e26a2521c16 100644
--- a/libbeat/autodiscover/autodiscover.go
+++ b/libbeat/autodiscover/autodiscover.go
@@ -206,7 +206,9 @@ func (a *Autodiscover) handleStart(event bus.Event) bool {
 
 		err = a.factory.CheckConfig(config)
 		if err != nil {
-			a.logger.Error(errors.Wrap(err, fmt.Sprintf("Auto discover config check failed for config '%s', won't start runner", common.DebugString(config, true))))
+			a.logger.Error(errors.Wrap(err, fmt.Sprintf(
+				"Auto discover config check failed for config '%s', won't start runner",
+				common.DebugString(config, true))))
 			continue
 		}
 
diff --git a/libbeat/autodiscover/providers/kubernetes/pod.go b/libbeat/autodiscover/providers/kubernetes/pod.go
index d671cf14a22..c4260dab1d5 100644
--- a/libbeat/autodiscover/providers/kubernetes/pod.go
+++ b/libbeat/autodiscover/providers/kubernetes/pod.go
@@ -122,9 +122,9 @@ func NewPodEventer(uuid uuid.UUID, cfg *common.Config, client k8s.Interface, pub
 	return p, nil
 }
 
-// OnAdd ensures processing of service objects that are newly added
+// OnAdd ensures processing of pod objects that are newly added
 func (p *pod) OnAdd(obj interface{}) {
-	p.logger.Debugf("Watcher Node add: %+v", obj)
+	p.logger.Debugf("Watcher Pod add: %+v", obj)
 	p.emit(obj.(*kubernetes.Pod), "start")
 }
 
@@ -134,12 +134,16 @@ func (p *pod) OnAdd(obj interface{}) {
 func (p *pod) OnUpdate(obj interface{}) {
 	pod := obj.(*kubernetes.Pod)
 
-	// If Pod is in a phase where all containers in the have terminated emit a stop event
-	if pod.Status.Phase == kubernetes.PodSucceeded || pod.Status.Phase == kubernetes.PodFailed {
+	p.logger.Debugf("Watcher Pod update for pod: %+v, status: %+v", pod.Name, pod.Status.Phase)
+	switch pod.Status.Phase {
+	case kubernetes.PodSucceeded, kubernetes.PodFailed:
+		// If Pod is in a phase where all containers in the have terminated emit a stop event
 		p.logger.Debugf("Watcher Pod update (terminating): %+v", obj)
-
 		time.AfterFunc(p.config.CleanupTimeout, func() { p.emit(pod, "stop") })
 		return
+	case kubernetes.PodPending:
+		p.logger.Debugf("Watcher Pod update (pending): don't know what to do with this Pod yet, skipping for now: %+v", obj)
+		return
 	}
 
 	p.logger.Debugf("Watcher Pod update: %+v", obj)
@@ -147,12 +151,13 @@ func (p *pod) OnUpdate(obj interface{}) {
 	p.emit(pod, "start")
 }
 
-// GenerateHints creates hints needed for hints builder
+// OnDelete stops pod objects that are deleted
 func (p *pod) OnDelete(obj interface{}) {
-	p.logger.Debugf("Watcher Node delete: %+v", obj)
+	p.logger.Debugf("Watcher Pod delete: %+v", obj)
 	time.AfterFunc(p.config.CleanupTimeout, func() { p.emit(obj.(*kubernetes.Pod), "stop") })
 }
 
+// GenerateHints creates hints needed for hints builder
 func (p *pod) GenerateHints(event bus.Event) bus.Event {
 	// Try to build a config with enabled builders. Send a provider agnostic payload.
 	// Builders are Beat specific.
diff --git a/libbeat/common/kubernetes/watcher.go b/libbeat/common/kubernetes/watcher.go
index 33cc808358a..606a36ac109 100644
--- a/libbeat/common/kubernetes/watcher.go
+++ b/libbeat/common/kubernetes/watcher.go
@@ -69,8 +69,9 @@ type WatchOptions struct {
 }
 
 type item struct {
-	object interface{}
-	state  string
+	object    interface{}
+	objectRaw interface{}
+	state     string
 }
 
 type watcher struct {
@@ -175,8 +176,7 @@ func (w *watcher) enqueue(obj interface{}, state string) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return
 	}
-
-	w.queue.Add(&item{key, state})
+	w.queue.Add(&item{key, obj, state})
 }
 
 // process gets the top of the work queue and processes the object that is received.
@@ -204,6 +204,11 @@ func (w *watcher) process(ctx context.Context) bool {
 			return nil
 		}
 		if !exists {
+			if entry.state == delete {
+				w.logger.Debugf("Object %+v was not found in the store, deleting anyway!", key)
+				// delete anyway in order to clean states
+				w.handler.OnDelete(entry.objectRaw)
+			}
 			return nil
 		}