diff --git a/gwinc/trace.py b/gwinc/trace.py
index 175d5e4628d89de2f2379dd948588cff7d3c5946..5ff3aed7f0f1b6c3ea6c512d1ec7f0f162a8e44b 100644
--- a/gwinc/trace.py
+++ b/gwinc/trace.py
@@ -53,7 +53,10 @@ class BudgetTrace:
         return bdict
 
     def __getattr__(self, name):
-        return self._bdict[name]
+        try:
+            return self._bdict[name]
+        except KeyError:
+            raise AttributeError
 
     def __getitem__(self, name):
         """get budget trace by name"""