diff --git a/packages/pg/lib/connection.js b/packages/pg/lib/connection.js
index af4b8f13b..4d6a207f7 100644
--- a/packages/pg/lib/connection.js
+++ b/packages/pg/lib/connection.js
@@ -84,19 +84,20 @@ class Connection extends EventEmitter {
         socket: self.stream,
       }
 
-      if (self.ssl !== true) {
-        Object.assign(options, self.ssl)
+      try {
+        if (self.ssl !== true) {
+          Object.assign(options, self.ssl)
 
-        if ('key' in self.ssl) {
-          options.key = self.ssl.key
+          if ('key' in self.ssl) {
+            options.key = self.ssl.key
+          }
+        }
+
+        var net = require('net')
+        if (net.isIP && net.isIP(host) === 0) {
+          options.servername = host
         }
-      }
 
-      var net = require('net')
-      if (net.isIP && net.isIP(host) === 0) {
-        options.servername = host
-      }
-      try {
         self.stream = getSecureStream(options)
       } catch (err) {
         return self.emit('error', err)
diff --git a/packages/pg/test/integration/client/error-handling-tests.js b/packages/pg/test/integration/client/error-handling-tests.js
index 4e879c9e0..e547d5618 100644
--- a/packages/pg/test/integration/client/error-handling-tests.js
+++ b/packages/pg/test/integration/client/error-handling-tests.js
@@ -191,6 +191,19 @@ suite.test('when connecting to an invalid host with callback', function (done) {
   })
 })
 
+suite.test('when connecting with an invalid ssl value', function (done) {
+  var client = new Client({
+    ssl: 'off',
+  })
+  client.on('error', () => {
+    assert.fail('unexpected error event when connecting')
+  })
+  client.connect(function (error, client) {
+    assert(error instanceof Error)
+    done()
+  })
+})
+
 suite.test('when connecting to invalid host with promise', function (done) {
   var client = new Client({
     user: 'very invalid username',