diff --git a/psycopg/lobject_type.c b/psycopg/lobject_type.c
index 823a1b76..c0a4724d 100644
--- a/psycopg/lobject_type.c
+++ b/psycopg/lobject_type.c
@@ -355,7 +355,7 @@ lobject_dealloc(PyObject* obj)
 {
     lobjectObject *self = (lobjectObject *)obj;
 
-    if (self->conn) {   /* if not, init failed */
+    if (self->conn && self->fd != -1) {
         if (lobject_close(self) < 0)
             PyErr_Print();
         Py_XDECREF((PyObject*)self->conn);