diff --git a/dspy/utils/unbatchify.py b/dspy/utils/unbatchify.py
index 44a4f59504..789229792a 100644
--- a/dspy/utils/unbatchify.py
+++ b/dspy/utils/unbatchify.py
@@ -109,4 +109,5 @@ def __del__(self):
         """
         Ensures the worker thread is terminated when the object is garbage collected.
         """
-        self.close()
+        if hasattr(self, "batch_fn"):
+            self.close()