diff --git a/src/piece_picker.cpp b/src/piece_picker.cpp
index 82c689691..63b210ff5 100644
--- a/src/piece_picker.cpp
+++ b/src/piece_picker.cpp
@@ -835,7 +835,10 @@ namespace libtorrent
 
 	void piece_picker::inc_refcount_all()
 	{
+#ifdef TORRENT_EXPENSIVE_INVARIANT_CHECKS
 		TORRENT_PIECE_PICKER_INVARIANT_CHECK;
+#endif
+
 		++m_seeds;
 		if (m_seeds == 1)
 		{
@@ -848,7 +851,9 @@ namespace libtorrent
 
 	void piece_picker::dec_refcount_all()
 	{
+#ifdef TORRENT_EXPENSIVE_INVARIANT_CHECKS
 		TORRENT_PIECE_PICKER_INVARIANT_CHECK;
+#endif
 
 		if (m_seeds > 0)
 		{