diff --git a/PackedArray.c b/PackedArray.c
index b8ea36f..0a6e879 100644
--- a/PackedArray.c
+++ b/PackedArray.c
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 // see README.md for usage instructions.
 // (‑●‑●)> released under the WTFPL v2 license, by Gregory Pakosz (@gpakosz)
 
+#include <string.h>
+
 #ifndef PACKEDARRAY_SELF
 #define PACKEDARRAY_SELF "PackedArray.c"
 #endif
@@ -404,6 +406,8 @@ PackedArray* PackedArray_create(uint32_t bitsPerItem, uint32_t count)
     a->count = count;
   }
 
+  memset(a->buffer, 0, bufferSize);
+
   return a;
 }