diff --git a/tailbone/newgrids/filters.py b/tailbone/newgrids/filters.py
index fa8616b7..cba5f313 100644
--- a/tailbone/newgrids/filters.py
+++ b/tailbone/newgrids/filters.py
@@ -377,7 +377,7 @@ class AlchemyNumericFilter(AlchemyGridFilter):
     # term for integer field...
 
     def value_invalid(self, value):
-        return bool(value and len(value) > 8)
+        return bool(value and len(unicode(value)) > 8)
 
     def filter_equal(self, query, value):
         if self.value_invalid(value):