diff --git a/newsfragments/1115.bugfix.rst b/newsfragments/1115.bugfix.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fecf52df
--- /dev/null
+++ b/newsfragments/1115.bugfix.rst
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Fix an issue where number of search counts has been hard-default set to 5 by command-line default and ini setting could not override it.
diff --git a/pytest_postgresql/config.py b/pytest_postgresql/config.py
index a772136e..b7c2d87e 100644
--- a/pytest_postgresql/config.py
+++ b/pytest_postgresql/config.py
@@ -38,7 +38,8 @@ def get_postgresql_option(option: str) -> Any:
         exec=get_postgresql_option("exec"),
         host=get_postgresql_option("host"),
         port=get_postgresql_option("port"),
-        port_search_count=get_postgresql_option("port_search_count"),
+        # Parse as int, because if it's defined in an INI file then it'll always be a string
+        port_search_count=int(get_postgresql_option("port_search_count")),
         user=get_postgresql_option("user"),
         password=get_postgresql_option("password"),
         options=get_postgresql_option("options"),
diff --git a/pytest_postgresql/plugin.py b/pytest_postgresql/plugin.py
index 04a5c3ef..5c3f4096 100644
--- a/pytest_postgresql/plugin.py
+++ b/pytest_postgresql/plugin.py
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 # You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
 # along with pytest-postgresql.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 """Plugin module of pytest-postgresql."""
+
 from tempfile import gettempdir
 
 from _pytest.config.argparsing import Parser
@@ -92,7 +93,6 @@ def pytest_addoption(parser: Parser) -> None:
         action="store",
         dest="postgresql_port_search_count",
         help=_help_port_search_count,
-        default=5,
     )
 
     parser.addoption("--postgresql-user", action="store", dest="postgresql_user", help=_help_user)
diff --git a/tests/examples/test_assert_port_search_count_is_ten.py b/tests/examples/test_assert_port_search_count_is_ten.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..aa0e2eb1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/examples/test_assert_port_search_count_is_ten.py
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+"""Asserts that port_search_count is 10.
+
+That shows that it is not the default (5), and that we parsed it as an integer.
+"""
+
+from pytest import FixtureRequest
+
+from pytest_postgresql.config import get_config
+
+
+def test_assert_port_search_count_is_ten(request: FixtureRequest) -> None:
+    """Asserts that port_search_count is 10."""
+    config = get_config(request)
+    assert config["port_search_count"] == 10
diff --git a/tests/test_postgres_options_plugin.py b/tests/test_postgres_options_plugin.py
index c87fc3ea..4cb005f6 100644
--- a/tests/test_postgres_options_plugin.py
+++ b/tests/test_postgres_options_plugin.py
@@ -57,6 +57,23 @@ def test_postgres_loader_in_ini(pointed_pytester: Pytester) -> None:
     ret.assert_outcomes(passed=1)
 
 
+def test_postgres_port_search_count_in_cli_is_int(pointed_pytester: Pytester) -> None:
+    """Check that the --postgresql-port-search-count command line argument is parsed as an int."""
+    pointed_pytester.copy_example("test_assert_port_search_count_is_ten.py")
+    ret = pointed_pytester.runpytest(
+        "--postgresql-port-search-count", "10", "test_assert_port_search_count_is_ten.py"
+    )
+    ret.assert_outcomes(passed=1)
+
+
+def test_postgres_port_search_count_in_ini_is_int(pointed_pytester: Pytester) -> None:
+    """Check that pytest.ini arguments are honored for load."""
+    pointed_pytester.copy_example("test_assert_port_search_count_is_ten.py")
+    pointed_pytester.makefile(".ini", pytest="[pytest]\npostgresql_port_search_count = 10\n")
+    ret = pointed_pytester.runpytest("test_assert_port_search_count_is_ten.py")
+    ret.assert_outcomes(passed=1)
+
+
 postgresql_proc_to_override = postgresql_proc()