diff --git a/kasa/protocol.py b/kasa/protocol.py
@@ -156,7 +156,11 @@ async def _query(self, request: str, retry_count: int, timeout: int) -> Dict:
 
     def __del__(self) -> None:
         if self.writer and self.loop and self.loop.is_running():
-            self.writer.close()
+            # Since __del__ will be called when python does
+            # garbage collection is can happen in the event loop thread
+            # or in another thread so we need to make sure the call to
+            # close is called safely with call_soon_threadsafe
+            self.loop.call_soon_threadsafe(self.writer.close)
         self._reset()
 
     @staticmethod