diff --git a/ddtrace/_trace/tracer.py b/ddtrace/_trace/tracer.py
index 7ea9be3b4df..d6877c5d1a7 100644
--- a/ddtrace/_trace/tracer.py
+++ b/ddtrace/_trace/tracer.py
@@ -203,8 +203,6 @@ def sample(self, span):
         self._sampler.sample(span)
 
     def _sample_before_fork(self) -> None:
-        if isinstance(self._span_aggregator.writer, AgentWriterInterface):
-            self._span_aggregator.writer.before_fork()
         span = self.current_root_span()
         if span is not None and span.context.sampling_priority is None:
             self.sample(span)
diff --git a/ddtrace/internal/writer/writer.py b/ddtrace/internal/writer/writer.py
index cd049c4e00c..8d0f849d4f6 100644
--- a/ddtrace/internal/writer/writer.py
+++ b/ddtrace/internal/writer/writer.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import abc
 import binascii
 from collections import defaultdict
+import functools
 import gzip
 import logging
 import os
@@ -12,8 +13,10 @@
 from typing import List
 from typing import Optional
 from typing import TextIO
+import weakref
 
 from ddtrace import config
+from ddtrace.internal import forksafe
 from ddtrace.internal.dist_computing.utils import in_ray_job
 from ddtrace.internal.hostname import get_hostname
 import ddtrace.internal.native as native
@@ -77,6 +80,29 @@ class NoEncodableSpansError(Exception):
 DEFAULT_SMA_WINDOW = 10
 
 
+def make_weak_method_hook(bound_method):
+    """
+    Wrap a bound method so that it is called via a weakref to its instance.
+    If the instance has been garbage-collected, the hook is a no-op.
+    """
+    if not hasattr(bound_method, "__self__") or bound_method.__self__ is None:
+        raise TypeError("make_weak_method_hook expects a bound method")
+
+    instance = bound_method.__self__
+    func = bound_method.__func__
+    instance_ref = weakref.ref(instance)
+
+    @functools.wraps(func)
+    def hook(*args, **kwargs):
+        inst = instance_ref()
+        if inst is None:
+            # The instance was garbage-collected
+            return
+        return func(inst, *args, **kwargs)
+
+    return hook
+
+
 def _human_size(nbytes: float) -> str:
     """Return a human-readable size."""
     i = 0
@@ -777,6 +803,11 @@ def __init__(
         self._max_payload_size = max_payload_size
         self._test_session_token = test_session_token
 
+        fork_hook = make_weak_method_hook(self.before_fork)
+
+        forksafe.register_before_fork(fork_hook)
+        self._fork_hook = fork_hook
+
         self._clients = [client]
         self.dogstatsd = dogstatsd
         self._metrics: Dict[str, int] = defaultdict(int)
@@ -1064,7 +1095,9 @@ def _stop_service(
     ) -> None:
         # FIXME: don't join() on stop(), let the caller handle this
         super(NativeWriter, self)._stop_service()
+        forksafe.unregister_before_fork(self._fork_hook)
         self.join(timeout=timeout)
+        self.before_fork()
 
     def before_fork(self) -> None:
         self._exporter.stop_worker()