diff --git a/etc/nova/nova.conf.sample b/etc/nova/nova.conf.sample
index ee71553c9101..ccedb6caf9a9 100644
--- a/etc/nova/nova.conf.sample
+++ b/etc/nova/nova.conf.sample
@@ -732,7 +732,7 @@
 # Action to take if a running deleted instance is
 # detected.Valid options are 'noop', 'log' and 'reap'. Set to
 # 'noop' to disable. (string value)
-#running_deleted_instance_action=log
+#running_deleted_instance_action=reap
 
 # Number of seconds to wait between runs of the cleanup task.
 # (integer value)
diff --git a/nova/compute/manager.py b/nova/compute/manager.py
index c06ed306286d..b0216ca0eefc 100644
--- a/nova/compute/manager.py
+++ b/nova/compute/manager.py
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ timeout_opts = [
 
 running_deleted_opts = [
     cfg.StrOpt("running_deleted_instance_action",
-               default="log",
+               default="reap",
                help="Action to take if a running deleted instance is detected."
                     "Valid options are 'noop', 'log' and 'reap'. "
                     "Set to 'noop' to disable."),