Beetles

adrianzamudio55@gmail.com

I currently have my weekly smokes in a airtight container and it is working beautifully. My main concern is if it is possible for beetles to get into the plastic container and ruin my collection. Also what would be some signs that beetles have been in the collection and how would I go about getting rid of them. Thanks and I appreciate any feedback.

Dark_Roast

Do a search for "beetles" and you will find a ton of information and discussion on beetles. More than likely your cigars have beetle larvae, most do. Just keep temperature at 70 or lower and humidity at 70% or lower and those larvae should remain dormant. If your really concerned then freeze cigars for a few hours, then refrigerate for 24 hours. That should kill the larvae. All that information and more will be found with a search. Good Luck.

onestrangeone

It's not realistic for me to keep the house below 70 in the summer, $500 monthly electric bill, plus I don't  like being that cold. I freeze everything I get, when you research beetles you should also find a chart on freezing, it shows how long too freeze according to the temp of the freezer, mine takes 72 hrs but I add an extra 24 just to make sure. after freezing I let them rest in the humi at least a month.

Dark_Roast

Yea I get the temperature. I think we keep house at the 72 to 76 range and I have not had problems with beetles. I thought I might have been off on number of hours freezing. Thanks for your post.

Bob_Luken

Signs that the larvae have been into your cigars are small holes in the cigar and fine dust if you tap the foot down on a hard surface. It's easier to see if you tap onto a bright surface. This dust is dark red in color and there will be lots of it. It's larvae poo actually. 








The eggs would already be in your cigars. Maybe. Well, that's the most likely method of arrival into your stash. The warmer it is the more active they are. They, being eggs hatching into larvae because it's warm enough,and then larvae eating your cigars. I have had first hand experience. Three times so far. Now I freeze most everything when I get it and any cigars that I don't freeze, I keep separate. And, I'm not as worried anymore as I used to be. And I wouldn't be surprised if it happened to me again. I would't be happy but, I surely wouldn't stress as much as before. 



My freezing method.

Bag cigars in single rows in ziploc quart or gallon freezer bags. remove excess air.

Use a weather thermometer to verify that your freezer is at zero degrees Fahrenheit.
(I use a digital unit that has an outdoor thermometer at the end of a wire and I put that end in the freezer and keep the digital readout on top of the fridge to see the readout.) 

Place directly in freezer.
(Don't stack all cigars together in the freezer because the  ones in the center would be insulated from the cold air. Keep them separated. If this was a box purchase freeze the boxes that the cigars came in separately, un-bagged, with lids open. Many people advise putting cigars in the refrigerator for a day or 12 hours to make the transition to zero degrees a little slower but, I've done it both ways and can't tell it makes any difference.) 

Cigars should remain there 72 hours at zero degrees Fahrenheit. 
An extra day or a couple of extra days won't hurt if you happen to leave them in there longer.When I remove them from the freezer I wrap them all together (still in the ziploc bags) in a towel and then I wrap the towel in a heavy jacket or coat. This allows them to thaw slowly back to room temperature.

Place in humidor for at least a couple of weeks rest.

First_Warrior

Well i've read this thread with interest and looked on line for more info. I've got the freezer stocked and will be freezing any more cigars that come into my hands. i now will not have to inspect each and every cigar for signs of beetles. Thanks for the info guys. 

Rhamlin

Knock on wood I've only come across them once. Well I never did see the ugly bastards and only one stick was affected that I could see, it had 3 holes in it but none in the cello thank goodness so I just smoked it. And I never did hear any popping so I assume it was dead. 

Usaf06

I came across my first stick today with a beetle hole. It was a L'atelier special selection. I contacted the company to see if they freeze and they said they use pesticides in their large storing humidor. So, needless to say, all the other cigars that were in the humidor with it were placed into the freezer today. I checked them all with no effect from beetles.

Bob_Luken

Usaf06 said:

I came across my first stick today with a beetle hole. It was a L'atelier special selection. I contacted the company to see if they freeze and they said they use pesticides in their large storing humidor. So, needless to say, all the other cigars that were in the humidor with it were placed into the freezer today. I checked them all with no effect from beetles.

Sorry to hear this. 

Just the one hole?
Was that the only sign?
Sometimes suspicious looking holes are just suspicious looking holes.

Another sign to look for is the beetle dust. 
Stand it on end (foot down) and tap the L'atelier's foot on the table or counter top to see if any dust falls out of the foot. Do this on a light colored surface to better see the dark fine dust.   

I'm the curious type. If it were me I'd do an autopsy.
I'd take an exacto knife or a box cutter and slice into the wrapper and binder from end to end and peel back the layers and look for tunneling or burrowing. 

Usaf06

It was one hole but it bored through the cellophane also. I tapped it and the red dust came out in my hand. My older son broke it open where the hole was and could see boring inside. its now in the preserve in the back of my house.

Lee.mcglynn

Sorry to hear this! I'm more afraid of mold 

matkn293

One of the main reasons I have a winedor. My wife likes the house like an ice box so temp is usually not a problem but I can get even colder in the winedor. I keep it around 65. Only had 1 stick show signs of beetles and I am betting it was there before I got the box. None of the others in that box had signs of beetles. 

Dark_Roast

I remember my first encounter with those pesky things. I had bought a box of cigars from a B&M and didn't have any way of storing other than letting them sit in the box. I opened the box one day and was shocked to find holes in many of the cigars. I did not know what they were and had little to zero knowledge of cigars at the time. I was pissed at the retailer for selling me crap cigars. Now of course I realize the fault was my own not the retailer. Lesson learned. 

Usaf06

I ordered a 28 bottle wine cooler so just waiting on it. Then I'm gonna need some shelves.  Any one have some ideas for shelving?

Usaf06

Looks like some people on the dojo and C2 have found beetles in their crowned heads Tennessee Waltz. If you have some might want to double check.

matkn293

You can use empty boxes on the factory shelves or you can order some online. Winedors. Com has shelves they will make for just about any model. Does take a while though. There are others out there but I can't think of them currently. 

Usaf06

matkn293 said:

You can use empty boxes on the factory shelves or you can order some online. Winedors. Com has shelves they will make for just about any model. Does take a while though. There are others out there but I can't think of them currently. 

The one I ordered from homedepot came cracked so I returned it. I ordered the wynter cigar cooler humidor instead from bestbuy. 

Usaf06

Crowned Heads response to recent beetle issues with their products as posted on C2

avengethis

That's one hell of a response to something that can be out of their control. 

Dark_Roast

That is unbelievable. They are openning themselves up to some not so honest individuals.