diff --git a/CHANGES.rst b/CHANGES.rst
index 311b3983..cce67453 100644
--- a/CHANGES.rst
+++ b/CHANGES.rst
@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 pywb 0.11.4 changelist
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
-* wombat: overrides ``window.crypto.getRandomValues()`` to use predictable random for improved
+* wombat: overrides ``window.crypto.getRandomValues()`` to use predictable 'random' values for improved
   replayability in many JS applications.
 
-* fix gevent/uwsgi: add ``gevent.monkey.patch_all()`` to ``pywb.apps.wayback`` used by ``uwsgi.ini``.
-  (Was relying on ``gevent-early-monkey-patch`` which is not yet available until uwsgi 2.1).
+* fix gevent/uwsgi: run ``gevent.monkey.patch_all()`` explicitly when loading ``pywb.apps.wayback`` if ``GEVENT_MONKEY_PATCH=1`` env var is set
+
+  Enabled by default in ``uwsgi.ini``. (Was previously relying on ``gevent-early-monkey-patch`` which is not yet available until uwsgi 2.1 is released).
 
 
 pywb 0.11.3 changelist
diff --git a/pywb/apps/conftest.py b/pywb/apps/conftest.py
deleted file mode 100644
index d5d4c959..00000000
--- a/pywb/apps/conftest.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-def pytest_configure(config):
-    import sys
-    sys._called_from_test = True
diff --git a/pywb/apps/wayback.py b/pywb/apps/wayback.py
index afedfbd6..68d042a3 100644
--- a/pywb/apps/wayback.py
+++ b/pywb/apps/wayback.py
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
-import sys
+import os
 
-if not hasattr(sys, '_called_from_test'):  #pragma: no cover
+if os.environ.get('GEVENT_MONKEY_PATCH') == '1':  #pragma: no cover
     # Use gevent if available
     try:
         from gevent.monkey import patch_all; patch_all()
+        print('gevent patched!')
     except Exception as e:
         pass
 
diff --git a/uwsgi.ini b/uwsgi.ini
index 20c85400..91dad78b 100644
--- a/uwsgi.ini
+++ b/uwsgi.ini
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ gevent = 100
 #Not available until uwsgi 2.1
 #monkey-patching manually in pywb.apps.wayback
 #gevent-early-monkey-patch =
+# for uwsgi<2.1, set env when using gevent
+env = GEVENT_MONKEY_PATCH=1
 
 # specify config file here
 env = PYWB_CONFIG_FILE=config.yaml