diff --git a/tar_scm b/tar_scm
index 1a79a4d..f7d8073 100644
--- a/tar_scm
+++ b/tar_scm
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ while test $# -gt 0; do
       shift
     ;;
     *-exclude)
-      EXCLUDES="$EXCLUDES --exclude=\'${2#/}\'"
+      EXCLUDES="$EXCLUDES --exclude='${2#/}'"
       shift
     ;;
     *-filename)