BEEEEEEEEETLESSSSSS!!!!!!!!

scarlin

I want everyone to go thru their humis and do a beetle inspection. There hasn't been a beetle topic in awhile so I feel guard is down.

Russ55

Wait a few months, when the weather warms up you'll start seeing the threads again.

jj20030

replace the words with " IM BETTLE FREEEEE " LOL video CLICKHERE

bigharpoon

Nice, good idea! Nothing like a little fear pumping to make me feel like a real American!

danielzreyes

Good idea, but sh*t man. Don't scare us like that.

jr_p951

I have a winedor set to 66'! I'm good. Unless the power goes out in a heat wave. Then I panick!

Krieger

bigharpoon:

Nice, good idea! Nothing like a little fear pumping to make me feel like a real American!

I see what you did there. lmao, win.

jlmarta

scarlin:

I want everyone to go thru their humis and do a beetle inspection. There hasn't been a beetle topic in awhile so I feel guard is down.

If it'll make you feel better, I just finished doing the ol' "Put-every-stick-you've-got-in-the-freezer-for-48-hours" routine. Seems at least one of the Graycliffs I bought in Nassau last June had a bug hitching a ride. Unfortunately, I traded that particular stick to a really understanding BOTL who, thankfully, brought it to my attention. I also notified another BOTL who had asked me to pick up some Graycliffs for him. Hopefully none of his sticks were affected.

So, I've already done my beetle thing for this year. Don' need no mo!

setilsn4

Are beetles a big problem with cigars? I mean is it very common? Noob info.

Rhamlin

setilsn4:

Are beetles a big problem with cigars? I mean is it very common? Noob info.

They are usually only a problem in the summer. As long as you keep your temp down around 70 and your humidity below 70 you don't have alot to worry about. A common practice is to put your sticks in the freezer for 3 days followed by 2 days in the fridge before putting them in your humidor. Especially if the sticks are coming from sources your not sure about or if you bought them outside the country.

kuzi16

Rhamlin:

setilsn4:

Are beetles a big problem with cigars? I mean is it very common? Noob info.

They are usually only a problem in the summer. As long as you keep your temp down around 70 and your humidity below 70 you don't have alot to worry about. A common practice is to put your sticks in the freezer for 3 days followed by 2 days in the fridge before putting them in your humidor. Especially if the sticks are coming from sources your not sure about or if you bought them outside the country.

most of the higher end factories (the ones you have heard of by name) either fuimigate or freeze their own tobacco. so if you are in the US and have bought from a reputable source (cigar.com) the chances are fairly slim that you will have beetles. however, if you have the eggs and your never let your house above 75 degrees and your humidity is always under 70%, you will almost never cause an outbreak.

i have not frozen a single stick since 2006. i have not had a single problem. i buy high quality cigars from factories that take precautions. I buy them from my local B&M or cigar.com. my house is always in the 60s and 70s and my humidity is at 68%. any questionable sticks dont hatch because conditions arent right for them to.

JDH

Usually in the hottest months, I will freeze any cigars I've bought, regardless of vendor, just to be on the safe side, even though my humidity rarely goes over 73, summertime temps in the house can get up around 78, so I don't take any chances. So far, I've never had a problem with any bugs.

setilsn4

Again you guys have been a wealth of information...thanks for the pointers!

jfaciane

How about this? In the summer my house can get up to 78 or so but as soon as I get home the AC gets turned on and the temp drops to 73 or lower. Can this be a problem even though the temp is hot for 2-3 hours? I've had my humi for a year and never had a problem yet but just wondering ya know? How long does a beetle infestation take? Days? Weeks?

bigharpoon

jfaciane:

How about this? In the summer my house can get up to 78 or so but as soon as I get home the AC gets turned on and the temp drops to 73 or lower. Can this be a problem even though the temp is hot for 2-3 hours? I've had my humi for a year and never had a problem yet but just wondering ya know? How long does a beetle infestation take? Days? Weeks?

Not a problem. Maine gets hot for all of two weeks and it's very, very muggy during the whole summer so that stretch of time creates PRIME beetle habitat. I don't have AC and I use only beads in my humis so I fight high humidity all summer and high temps right at the peak. It's not uncommon for my humis to be well over 70rh for weeks at a time and well over 70 degrees all day for weeks at a time and I've never had one single problem.

I buy from reputable sources and inspect for outbreaks to nip them in the bud but in general if you buy from quality sources your cigars are a lot tougher than you think.

jfaciane

Well 90% of my cigar purchases are form Ccom. I rarely buy from my B&M unless it's a spur the moment thing and want something I know I don't have in the humi. So I'm good then. Thanks bigharpoon.

setilsn4

I can see how eggs and the like can get moved around. I go my first box of cigars with a nest of tabacco inside it. Being new to the scene I haven't experienced that...and of course because I read this thread this morning...Beatles is all I thought about when I saw this. Hehe...I have all the faith in the world in Cigar.com to keep the critters at bay...hehe...I itch now at the thought of my stash getting invaded. :P

Salem

Ewwww....didn't think I had to worry about those things!! I'll keep a look out.

jlmarta

Unless a guy's got a few hundred sticks or more, it really isn't that big a job to bag up all of them and put 'em in the freezer for at least 48 hours and then move them to the fridge for another 24 to let them thaw gently before puttin' 'em back in the humi. In my case, it was a good excuse to re-sort and reorganize. Plus, I end up with some peace of mind.

setilsn4

jlmarta:

Unless a guy's got a few hundred sticks or more, it really isn't that big a job to bag up all of them and put 'em in the freezer for at least 48 hours and then move them to the fridge for another 24 to let them thaw gently before puttin' 'em back in the humi. In my case, it was a good excuse to re-sort and reorganize. Plus, I end up with some peace of mind.

You know I actually think I will adhere to that process, just for peace of mind. I am a freak like that and obsess whether there is a threat or not. For what you pay for some of these it just seems like good sense, but I also read somewhere that the freezing effects the cigar in some cases.

jlmarta

setilsn4:

jlmarta:

Unless a guy's got a few hundred sticks or more, it really isn't that big a job to bag up all of them and put 'em in the freezer for at least 48 hours and then move them to the fridge for another 24 to let them thaw gently before puttin' 'em back in the humi. In my case, it was a good excuse to re-sort and reorganize. Plus, I end up with some peace of mind.

You know I actually think I will adhere to that process, just for peace of mind. I am a freak like that and obsess whether there is a threat or not. For what you pay for some of these it just seems like good sense, but I also read somewhere that the freezing effects the cigar in some cases.

Hasn't seemed to bother mine. They look, feel, and smoke like nothing happened to them.

oldsoulrevival

If all of your cigars are in cellophane, does that protect them?

scarlin

oldsoulrevival:

If all of your cigars are in cellophane, does that protect them?

No, cellophane is barely a barrier if one at all. They will chew right through it

jgibv

scarlin:

I want everyone to go thru their humis and do a beetle inspection. There hasn't been a beetle topic in awhile so I feel guard is down.

BUMP!!!!!

Its been hot in the midwest this week....hit 90+ today at our house. 2/3 of my humis are in the basement but 1 is in the living room.....our a/c was whacked out this past week and this afternoon I noticed the digital hygro read 78 temp - so I panicked afraid that the temp was in the upper 70s all week, this has never happened before.
Luckily everything looked fine except for 1 GH Vintage 2002 - the cello was on but there was a vey small hole in the wrapper. I then looked over all the cigars a second tme very closely and the GH was the only questionable one... Took it out and slowly dissected it with a cutter & knife - no signs of beetles or eggs but I pitched it anyways. Better to be safe than sorry.
Check your humis people!!!!

chemforever

jlmarta:

scarlin:

I want everyone to go thru their humis and do a beetle inspection. There hasn't been a beetle topic in awhile so I feel guard is down.

If it'll make you feel better, I just finished doing the ol' "Put-every-stick-you've-got-in-the-freezer-for-48-hours" routine. Seems at least one of the Graycliffs I bought in Nassau last June had a bug hitching a ride. Unfortunately, I traded that particular stick to a really understanding BOTL who, thankfully, brought it to my attention. I also notified another BOTL who had asked me to pick up some Graycliffs for him. Hopefully none of his sticks were affected.

So, I've already done my beetle thing for this year. Don' need no mo!

I have read threads elsewhere that graycliffs are not frozen ( botl have contacted the company). This was several years ago but I am always cautions with that brand. I usually freeze anything I receive during the summer months, the real problem is the time in transit and if you don't get your package the first delivery who knows how hot it gets in the delivery vehicles. Using a separate intermediate humi for new sticks can also help where they don't enter the general population for 4-6 weeks.