diff --git a/kmod/src/btree.c b/kmod/src/btree.c
index d17a1b76..b3498858 100644
--- a/kmod/src/btree.c
+++ b/kmod/src/btree.c
@@ -703,6 +703,8 @@ static struct buffer_head *try_merge(struct super_block *sb,
 		free_tree_block(sb, parent->hdr.blkno);
 	}
 
+	scoutfs_block_put(sib_bh);
+
 	return bh;
 }