diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 64b79aa..33ceacb 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - Manpages for each subcommand.
 - Default prompt for Nushell.
 
+### Changed
+
+- `$_ZO_EXCLUDE_DIRS` now defaults to `"$HOME"`.
+
 ### Fixed
 
 - `cd -` on fish shells.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 691ecbd..8396814 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -221,6 +221,7 @@ Be sure to set these before calling `zoxide init`.
     | ------------------- | --------- | ----------------------- |
     | Linux / macOS / BSD | `:`       | `$HOME:$HOME/private/*` |
     | Windows             | `;`       | `$HOME;$HOME/private/*` |
+  - By default, this is set to `"$HOME"`.
 - `_ZO_FZF_OPTS`
   - Custom options to pass to [`fzf`][fzf]. See `man fzf` for the list of
     options.
diff --git a/man/zoxide.1 b/man/zoxide.1
index b047754..5364ffe 100644
--- a/man/zoxide.1
+++ b/man/zoxide.1
@@ -84,8 +84,8 @@ T}
     Windows|\fI;\fR eg. $HOME;$HOME/private/*
 .TE
 .sp
-After setting this up, you might need to use \fBzoxide-remove\fR(1) to remove
-any existing entries from the database.
+By default, this is set to \fI"$HOME"\fR. After setting this up, you might need
+to use \fBzoxide-remove\fR(1) to remove any existing entries from the database.
 .TP
 .B _ZO_FZF_OPTS
 Custom options to pass to fzf. See \fBman fzf\fR for the list of options.
diff --git a/src/config.rs b/src/config.rs
index 690d549..d471891 100644
--- a/src/config.rs
+++ b/src/config.rs
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ use crate::db::Rank;
 
 use anyhow::{bail, Context, Result};
 use dirs_next as dirs;
+use glob::Pattern;
 
 use std::env;
 use std::ffi::OsString;
@@ -29,18 +30,27 @@ pub fn zo_echo() -> bool {
     }
 }
 
-pub fn zo_exclude_dirs() -> Result<Vec<glob::Pattern>> {
+pub fn zo_exclude_dirs() -> Result<Vec<Pattern>> {
     match env::var_os("_ZO_EXCLUDE_DIRS") {
         Some(dirs_osstr) => env::split_paths(&dirs_osstr)
             .map(|path| {
                 let pattern = path
                     .to_str()
                     .context("invalid unicode in _ZO_EXCLUDE_DIRS")?;
-                glob::Pattern::new(&pattern)
+                Pattern::new(&pattern)
                     .with_context(|| format!("invalid glob in _ZO_EXCLUDE_DIRS: {}", pattern))
             })
             .collect(),
-        None => Ok(Vec::new()),
+        None => {
+            let pattern = (|| {
+                let home = dirs::home_dir()?;
+                let home_str = home.to_str()?;
+                let home_esc = Pattern::escape(home_str);
+                Pattern::new(&home_esc).ok()
+            })();
+
+            Ok(pattern.into_iter().collect())
+        }
     }
 }