diff --git a/.changes/tray-ghost-window.md b/.changes/tray-ghost-window.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e39d3a8af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changes/tray-ghost-window.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"tao": "patch"
+---
+
+On Windows, fix a ghost window appearing occasionally when clicking the tray icon.
diff --git a/src/platform_impl/windows/system_tray.rs b/src/platform_impl/windows/system_tray.rs
index a68a8bd23..64e4b8d4c 100644
--- a/src/platform_impl/windows/system_tray.rs
+++ b/src/platform_impl/windows/system_tray.rs
@@ -72,10 +72,18 @@ impl SystemTrayBuilder {
       RegisterClassW(&wnd_class);
 
       let hwnd = CreateWindowExW(
-        Default::default(),
+        WS_EX_NOACTIVATE | WS_EX_TRANSPARENT | WS_EX_LAYERED |
+        // WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW prevents this window from ever showing up in the taskbar, which
+        // we want to avoid. If you remove this style, this window won't show up in the
+        // taskbar *initially*, but it can show up at some later point. This can sometimes
+        // happen on its own after several hours have passed, although this has proven
+        // difficult to reproduce. Alternatively, it can be manually triggered by killing
+        // `explorer.exe` and then starting the process back up.
+        // It is unclear why the bug is triggered by waiting for several hours.
+        WS_EX_TOOLWINDOW,
         PCWSTR(class_name.as_ptr()),
-        "tao_system_tray_window",
-        WS_OVERLAPPEDWINDOW,
+        PCWSTR::default(),
+        WS_OVERLAPPED,
         CW_USEDEFAULT,
         0,
         CW_USEDEFAULT,