diff --git a/test/support/test_helper.js b/test/support/test_helper.js
index 02380e3f..d9035a97 100644
--- a/test/support/test_helper.js
+++ b/test/support/test_helper.js
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ var lzmaWorker = new LZMA();
 
 var redis = require('redis');
 var nock = require('nock');
+var log4js = require('log4js');
 
 // set environment specific variables
 global.environment  = require(__dirname + '/../../config/environments/test');
@@ -19,6 +20,11 @@ global.environment.name = 'test';
 process.env.NODE_ENV = 'test';
 
 
+// don't output logs in test environment to reduce noise
+log4js.configure({ appenders: [] });
+global.logger = log4js.getLogger();
+
+
 // Utility function to compress & encode LZMA
 function lzma_compress_to_base64(payload, mode, callback) {
   lzmaWorker.compress(payload, mode,