Cigar Beetles

[cohibaIV]

Well<O:p</O:p
What a day I had yesterday
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THE STORY
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I checked my cigars (as I do) on Saturday night and all was fine, nothing amiss.
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I looked in the Humi on Sunday morning?.All ok..
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Then before we went out for the day, I decided to have a peek and take a couple out to smoke in the day
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As I opened the draw in which I have the Montecristo Sublimes in, I noticed one off them had a hole????
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On further inspection I discovered that it was crawling with little micro insects, which could only be Tobacco Beetle?..BASTERDS!!!!!
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To say I was pissed off is an understatement!!!
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My Montecristo Sublimes EL2008 were in danger of being infested with the little basterds?they couldn?t have chosen a lesser cigar could they?? O NO..they wanted the best!!!
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I hurriedly took out the Sublimes and put the infested cigar out side and wiped the odd bug off the others..Got all the trays out and checked that they had not spread. Of which at the moment looks like they haven?t.
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I have put the try in the freezer draw to kill any that were on it and quarantined the other 8 Sublimes in a Tupper ware box.
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I did try to take some pictures of the bad cigar but my crap camera couldn?t get the close ups?
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Still pissed of and hope the others won?t suffer the same fate..
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The offending cigar had very little damage, only had 1 bore hole and a little of the filler at the end had been eaten away, so I smoke it, destroying the basterds..
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Sorry for the bad language in this thread, but I am sure you will all understand how pissed off I am at the moment.
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I will be checking the other cigars in the humi constantly but I think I have contended the infestation?hopefully.
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TJ
I have sent you one of the Sublimes so please smoke it straight away if it hasn?t been eaten away during it?s journey, and don?t place it any where near your other Puros.
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Alex
I don?t want to risk sending you a cigar out of my humi at the moment?you never know, so when I get a new box in I will send you one then.
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Tell you what?after reading a lot about there little twats, never thought I would end up with them?and not in an expensive box off cigars.
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RANT OVER
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A very upset CohibaIV:mad:

[Robusto]

Blimey!
I hope you've seen off the gits, Dale. :eek:

[cj121]

:eviltongue:Little tossers:eviltongue:

Out of curiosity Dale, what temp is your humi running at? Mind you, you haven't had the Sublimes long have you? bet they were hatched before getting your way. If you've been running your humi fine, I'd have a word with the supplier.

Everything deserves life man, but them beetles are w&nkers:eviltongue::mad::eviltongue::mad:

[Boss Hog]

Sounds nasty,:eek:


"Yesterday... all my troubles seemed so far away"

Ooops, sorry, wrong beetles!

[Alex]

No problem Dale, where did you order the sublimes from, ive got a box on the way from puro and am now slightly worried :eek:

[nicwing]

This is really strange, I was going to post an item about wevil/beetle but I haven't go t round to it. :(

It came up in conversation recently because one of the London Clubs is considering having a sort of 'Communal Humidor' for members of a cigar club and I was discussing this with one of my contacts.

He said that this should be avoided at all costs because it was a sure way of someone Bu**eing up your cigars if they introduced weevil from some stock which had come in through a 'dodgy route'

It's my understanding that the major importers Freeze their stock down for a preiod to ensure that any weevil that gets in is killed.

Perhaps someone with the Cigar Encyclopedia can tell you how long you should freeze your stash.

I am certain that TJ's Sooper Dooper Humidor will actually have a freeze setting on it.

[Ramon]

Bad news, hope you've got them all.

Only one way to get rid of the little buggers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JGGKOjF8FU :biggrin1: Sorry, couldn't resist.

[Stevieboy]

Bad news there Dale :( Hope you've sorted things out mate

[Stogiedog]

Number 4, bloody hell mate:eek:. Well done for exterminating them.

I just read a small article on the internet about temp ranges to stop beetles hatching 16 - 18c = 60 - 64f Ideal. Temp should not go up to 21c = 69.8 and over it encourages the ol beetle to come out and play:confused:

Hope your cigars are ok, there is plenty of documentation and advice on the net mate, but I suppose you have already been there.:eek:

[Ramon]

Perhaps someone with the Cigar Encyclopedia can tell you how long you should freeze your stash.

Cigar freezing is not mentioned in the book. But what I do know is you have to be very careful. You need a freezer capable of going down to -30C, normally only commercial ones go this low. Obviously well wrapped, and very slowly bring them back up to normal temperature. Even then you're not guaranteed it won't affect their flavour. Something I hope never to have to do.

[TJCoro]

I am certain that TJ's Sooper Dooper Humidor will actually have a freeze setting on it.

Unfortunatly my cavernous humidor does not include a freeze option, which is why it is located in the lower part of my abode - to keep the tempture under 70 at all times and reduce the occurance of the Fab Four( that's the Beatles for you youngsters out there)

He is some informatin I found at another well know forum that some might find helpful.
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Q: After suffering a small tobacco beetle infestation in my humidor, I froze my cigars, following the instructions that I've read before (freezing them for 48 hours, then refrigerating them for 24 hours before returning them to my wiped-down humidor). Afterwards, the cigars tasted fine with no apparent ill effects. My question is this: to prevent any future beetle attacks, should I freeze all of my new cigar purchases in advance to kill off any possible tobacco beetle larvae?

A: Simply put, the only way to get rid of tobacco beetles is to freeze them. That doesn't mean that freezing is good for the cigars; it's a last resort, not a preventive measure. If you can avoid having to put them through the shock of freezing and defrosting, all the better. That means being vigilant with your cigars by keeping the humidor out of conditions that would raise the temperature above 75 degrees.
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Q: I recently purchased Cigar Aficionado's pocket guide, which says it's OK to freeze cigars for storage, just to be aware they won't age. But another section says that when cigars are affected by tobacco beetles, the only solution is to freeze them although it may damage the cigars. Which is it?

A: Sorry for the confusion. There's really no contradiction, although we do not recommend long-term deep-freezing. Here's the key point in both cases. When you decide to unfreeze the cigars, which in the case of tobacco beetles is after 48 hours, you must first shift them into the coldest part of your refrigerator and let them warm slowly. If you take them directly from the freezer into a 70-degree, 70-percent humidity environment, you run a real risk of them bursting from the rapid absorption of moisture. Just take care.

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:bandit:

[cohibaIV]

Thanks for the post guys,

I did notice the temp in the humi had risen to 22 c so I am at the conclusion that I was unlucky this time and had a Puro that had got some eggs in it and that when the temp went up they came out to play..

Really think it they had only just come out when I had looked so was really lucky.

I don't blame my suppier as I have been using him for over 3 years now and this is the first time it has happend..

Just unlucky I guess...

Odds are that at some point, some eggs will survive the freezing process.

I hope, and think they will be ok for the honeymoon...that is why I got them after all...:41:

Not going to freeze them as they will be smoked in 5 weeks time anyway...just going to keep them away from my stock...

PHEW...what a day

I need a cigar...

[Pantomimehorse]

sorry to hear mate, you have me worried now!

[Deano]

I'd completely missed this post. Sorry to hear you have the little blighters. Not fun for anyone. Let's hope u can get rid - keep us up to date mate.

[Ryan]

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On further inspection I discovered that it was crawling with little micro insects, which could only be Tobacco Beetle?..BASTERDS!!!!!

Hi,

The name's Andy, I've been lurking here a while and haven't posted an intro yet but this thread caught my attention.
You say "micro insects", if they were white and very tiny, that is, grain of salt size, you're dealing with wood mites.
If they are brown, easily visible (1-2 mm diameter) they're tobacco beetles.
Wood mites won't harm your cigars but are only marginally less annoying.

[PoohBore]

Had an email today from cheaphumidors.com containing this advice :
The eggs of the beetle are smaller than the eye can see and are frequently in the cigars you smoke. Nothing happens to them unless the temperature in your humidor gets up to 72 degrees, and then they can hatch.
The easiest way to prevent this from happening is to make sure your humidor is in a cool, dry place. Another option is to freeze your cigars for a few days, then let them thaw slowly, putting them your humidor. This will kill all the eggs before they can hatch.
If you find that you've been infected, remove all the bad cigars and toss them. Take the rest of your cigars out of your humidor, and ensure they are lower than 72 degrees or freeze them. Some people will even freeze their humidor to make sure the eggs in the cedar are killed.
With a little know-how and a close eye, you can make sure you never get infested with the beetle.

[cj121]

Almost every single stick has eggs in there somewhere. The cigar beetle is a busy little fugger when it comes to profusely laying eggs. Ever hear a slight crack, or pop when you're working a stick: that's an egg. Check your ash from time to time, you may see tiny little round bits that are completely combusted, they're eggs! Previous posts about the temp are right, tha'ts why I was asking Dale. I haven't popped back on the sites I read, but from memory, if you keep the max temp down to below mid-seventies and maintain a not too high RH (mid-seventies over a period of time is pushing it) you'll not get probs with the little fuggers hatching. If you've heard all this before folks, sorry.

A combination of it getting too moist and too warm, gets things going in a procreational way: bit like us humans!

Been sitting on this pic for a while, but it seems the right time to air it
724

Depending on how long you've had 'em, it may be that you've a case for reimbursement/replacement Dale.

[daverave999]

Sounds like you've caught it in time thankfully.

I've read various views on freezing ranging from some saying you can smoke them from frozen with no ill effects right through to don't do it. I'd certainly be freezing mine if it was that or having them eaten from the inside out!

I've got an academic paper on freezing to kill tobacco beetles if anyone would like a copy? PM me.

[cj121]

Hi,

The name's Andy, I've been lurking here a while and haven't posted an intro yet but this thread caught my attention.
You say "micro insects", if they were white and very tiny, that is, grain of salt size, you're dealing with wood mites.
If they are brown, easily visible (1-2 mm diameter) they're tobacco beetles.
Wood mites won't harm your cigars but are only marginally less annoying.

Hi Andy, pop intointrosandintro your good self sometime mate. Catchya later.

[Deano]

Interesting to think we have to fend off wood mites too!
I suspect these are definitely cigar beetles though...

Thanks for posting Ryan.

[larrysputnik]

Sorry to hear about this Dale. :(

It's strange though since there is a new method for treating cigars. Almost all factories now spray cigars with a pesticide that kills the beetles and then completely dissipates into the air before the cigars leave the factory. That's why beetle outbreaks are even less common than they ever were. Curious.:confused:

[Mr Moore]

Only just started reading this thread, wow. sorry to hear that dale.

[Deano]

I suppose the spray doesn't stop further infestation at another distro?

[TJCoro]

Sorry to hear about this Dale. :(

It's strange though since there is a new method for treating cigars. Almost all factories now spray cigars with a pesticide that kills the beetles and then completely dissipates into the air before the cigars leave the factory. That's why beetle outbreaks are even less common than they ever were. Curious.:confused:


What about the eggs, Mr. Larry :mullet: ? Does the pesticide kills those, too?

:bandit:

:juggle:

[whisky77]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune Cohiba IV.
It just goes to show that you have to be carefull with your temp and humidity, or it can all go pear shaped.Hopefully you have nipped it in the bud.

[larrysputnik]

What about the eggs, Mr. Larry :mullet: ? Does the pesticide kills those, too?

:bandit:

:juggle:

:mullet: From what I've read it kills everything. Except of course the Octomom's eggs. They're invincible.

[nicwing]

Go on then spaceman, I'm 'credulous as Hell' so hit me, Octomom's Eggs whassat?

[Stevieboy]

:mullet: From what I've read it kills everything. Except of course the Octomom's eggs. They're invincible.
LOL Larry !! Nice one

[cj121]

http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/images/gallery/octomom-cartoon.jpg

Here she is. Don't let her get over humidified at any cost:preggers::damnmate:

[daverave999]

You've met my girlfriend then?

[larrysputnik]

My apologies. I guess she hasn't reached worldwide status yet. Google her biatch. :41: :mullet:

(TJ made me do it.)

[cohibaIV]

UPDATE

All looks ok with ALL the other cigars at the moment..:biggrin1:

[cj121]

Good stuff Dale. Keep your eye on the babies:41: