diff --git a/trace.c b/trace.c
index 083eb984e1..7508aea028 100644
--- a/trace.c
+++ b/trace.c
@@ -61,10 +61,9 @@ static int get_trace_fd(struct trace_key *key)
 	else if (is_absolute_path(trace)) {
 		int fd = open(trace, O_WRONLY | O_APPEND | O_CREAT, 0666);
 		if (fd == -1) {
-			warning("could not open '%s' for tracing: %s\n"
-				"         Defaulting to tracing on stderr...",
+			warning("could not open '%s' for tracing: %s",
 				trace, strerror(errno));
-			key->fd = STDERR_FILENO;
+			trace_disable(key);
 		} else {
 			key->fd = fd;
 			key->need_close = 1;
@@ -72,10 +71,9 @@ static int get_trace_fd(struct trace_key *key)
 	} else {
 		warning("unknown trace value for '%s': %s\n"
 			"         If you want to trace into a file, then please set %s\n"
-			"         to an absolute pathname (starting with /)\n"
-			"         Defaulting to tracing on stderr...",
+			"         to an absolute pathname (starting with /)",
 			key->key, trace, key->key);
-		key->fd = STDERR_FILENO;
+		trace_disable(key);
 	}
 
 	key->initialized = 1;