diff --git a/src/Monolog/Handler/LogdnaHandler.php b/src/Monolog/Handler/LogdnaHandler.php
index eb3db1d..6af916f 100644
--- a/src/Monolog/Handler/LogdnaHandler.php
+++ b/src/Monolog/Handler/LogdnaHandler.php
@@ -80,7 +80,6 @@ public function __construct($ingestion_key, $hostname, $level = \Monolog\Logger:
      * @param array $record
      */
     protected function write(array $record) {
-        $date = new \DateTime();
         $headers = ['Content-Type: application/json'];
         $data = $record["formatted"];