diff --git a/lib/tapnet.pm b/lib/tapnet.pm
index 4ac9539c..1153d953 100644
--- a/lib/tapnet.pm
+++ b/lib/tapnet.pm
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ use Exporter;
 use testapi;
 our @EXPORT = qw/clone_host_file setup_tap_static get_host_dns/;
 
+my $self = shift;
+
 sub clone_host_file {
     # copy a given file from the host into the guest. Mainly used
     # for networking config on tap tests. this is pretty crazy, but