diff --git a/peachjam_search/views.py b/peachjam_search/views.py
index fa45b26a0..504913272 100644
--- a/peachjam_search/views.py
+++ b/peachjam_search/views.py
@@ -549,12 +549,16 @@ def save_search_trace(self, response):
                 # ignore badly formed previous search ids
                 pass
 
+        search = self.request.GET.get("search", "")[:2048]
+        # ignore nulls
+        search = search.replace("\00", " ")
+
         # save the search trace
         return SearchTrace.objects.create(
             user=self.request.user if self.request.user.is_authenticated else None,
             config_version=self.config_version,
             request_id=self.request.id if self.request.id != "none" else None,
-            search=self.request.GET.get("search", "")[:2048],
+            search=search,
             field_searches=field_searches,
             n_results=response.data["count"],
             page=self.paginator.page.number,