diff --git a/src/ceph-volume/ceph_volume/devices/lvm/activate.py b/src/ceph-volume/ceph_volume/devices/lvm/activate.py
index 44968fb8a..70fceeab6 100644
--- a/src/ceph-volume/ceph_volume/devices/lvm/activate.py
+++ b/src/ceph-volume/ceph_volume/devices/lvm/activate.py
@@ -364,8 +364,6 @@ class Activate(object):
         if len(self.argv) == 0:
             print(sub_command_help)
             return
-        if not self.argv[0].isdigit() and self.argv[0]:
-            self.argv.insert(0, "")
         args = parser.parse_args(self.argv)
         # Default to bluestore here since defaulting it in add_argument may
         # cause both to be True