diff --git a/ddtrace/contrib/falcon/middleware.py b/ddtrace/contrib/falcon/middleware.py
index b563d612e6a..9c453923765 100644
--- a/ddtrace/contrib/falcon/middleware.py
+++ b/ddtrace/contrib/falcon/middleware.py
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ def process_response(self, req, resp, resource, req_succeeded=None):
         if not span:
             return  # unexpected
 
-        status = httpx.normalize_status_code(resp.status)
+        status = resp.status.partition(" ")[0]
 
         # FIXME[matt] falcon does not map errors or unmatched routes
         # to proper status codes, so we we have to try to infer them
diff --git a/ddtrace/ext/http.py b/ddtrace/ext/http.py
index 39eb04f5ed0..86f6ea02fe0 100644
--- a/ddtrace/ext/http.py
+++ b/ddtrace/ext/http.py
@@ -17,7 +17,3 @@
 
 # template render span type
 TEMPLATE = "template"
-
-
-def normalize_status_code(code):
-    return code.split(" ")[0]