diff --git a/R/util.R b/R/util.R
index 446cb2e..e0db2e8 100644
--- a/R/util.R
+++ b/R/util.R
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@
   x <- gsub("\\+", "\\\\+", x)
   x <- gsub("\\?", "\\\\?", x)
   x <- gsub("\\|", "\\\\|", x)
+  x <- gsub("\\^", "\\\\^", x)
   return(x)
 }