Reset value to null in primefaces autocomplete event

I have an autocomplete event that fires correctly once a value is selected. I want another event to fire once I erase the value in the textbox and reset the value to null. I was thinking of using the onChange attribute but I was having issues so I reverted back to my original code.

<p:autoComplete id="deviceAuto" dropdown="true" scrollHeight="250" 
                value="#{summaryReportController.device.nickname}" 
                forceSelection="true" 
                completeMethod="#{summaryReportController.deviceComplete}">
    <p:ajax event="itemSelect" 
        listener="#{summaryReportController.handleDeviceSelect}" 
        update="printThis" />  
</p:autoComplete> 

public void handleDeviceSelect(SelectEvent event) {
    String deviceSelect = event.getComponent().getId();
    if (deviceSelect.equalsIgnoreCase("deviceAuto")) {
        Device selectedDevice = deviceMgr.getDevicebyNickname(device.getNickname());
        setDevice(selectedDevice);
    }
    updateInterface();
}