diff --git a/inventory/service/host_vars/review02.opendev.org.yaml b/inventory/service/host_vars/review02.opendev.org.yaml
index f444a3e16b..b7f6c0dd05 100644
--- a/inventory/service/host_vars/review02.opendev.org.yaml
+++ b/inventory/service/host_vars/review02.opendev.org.yaml
@@ -76,6 +76,8 @@ borg_backup_excludes_extra:
   - /home/gerrit2/review_site/cache/*
   - /home/gerrit2/review_site/tmp/*
   - /home/gerrit2/review_site/index/*
+  # scratch location for admins
+  - /home/gerrit2/tmp/*
   # live db when used with mariadb_container; dumped by separate job
   # using mysqldump
   - /home/gerrit2/reviewdb/*