diff --git a/interface/src/particles/ParticleTreeRenderer.cpp b/interface/src/particles/ParticleTreeRenderer.cpp
index c89adab65d..d9683405e2 100644
--- a/interface/src/particles/ParticleTreeRenderer.cpp
+++ b/interface/src/particles/ParticleTreeRenderer.cpp
@@ -130,5 +130,6 @@ void ParticleTreeRenderer::processEraseMessage(const QByteArray& dataByteArray,
     if (_tree){
         _tree->lockForWrite();
         static_cast<ParticleTree*>(_tree)->processEraseMessage(dataByteArray, sourceNode);
+        _tree->unlock();
     }
 }