diff --git a/panda/src/event/asyncTask.cxx b/panda/src/event/asyncTask.cxx
index 6d8f8621cc..1390febe7b 100644
--- a/panda/src/event/asyncTask.cxx
+++ b/panda/src/event/asyncTask.cxx
@@ -229,7 +229,9 @@ set_name(const string &name) {
     }
   }
   PStatCollector parent(_show_code_pcollector, name.substr(0, trimmed));
-  _task_pcollector = PStatCollector(parent, name.substr(0, end));
+  // prevent memory leak
+  //_task_pcollector = PStatCollector(parent, name.substr(0, end));
+  _task_pcollector = parent;
 #endif  // DO_PSTATS
 }