diff --git a/wicd/backends/be-ioctl.py b/wicd/backends/be-ioctl.py
index 4314054..ed7dc3f 100644
--- a/wicd/backends/be-ioctl.py
+++ b/wicd/backends/be-ioctl.py
@@ -426,6 +426,8 @@ class WirelessInterface(Interface, BaseWirelessInterface):
     @neediface(False)
     def StopWPA(self):
         """ Terminates wpa_supplicant using its ctrl interface. """
+        if not WPACTRL_AVAIL:
+            return BaseWirelessInterface.StopWPA(self)
         wpa = self._connect_to_wpa_ctrl_iface()
         if not wpa:
             return