For years I have been told to put new cigars in the freezer for several hours before putting them in the humidor to kill any possible bugs. Is this just an old wives tale?
Not an old wives tale. Point of fact, most reputable companies do this already as part of their QA, before the sticks are put into their warehouse inventory. The head merchant here at Ccom has assured us they do it, as do many other merchants. Very normal part of the process, and effective at killing the cigar beetle egg.
Additionally, many folks do freeze cigars before putting them in their own home inventory; if you do a search here you can get some great info on that procedure.
Proper storage of temps below 70 Farenheit in your humi should further prevent any beetle issues.
Finally, if you get a chance stop on in to the newb thread and tell us about yourself? Welcome to the forums!
-Jay
“There’ll be two dates on your tombstone and all your friends will read ’em but all that’s gonna matter is that little dash between ’em.” -Kevin Welch
"I drink a great deal. I sleep a little, and I smoke cigar after cigar. That is why I am in two-hundred-percent form." -- Winston Churchill "LET'S GO FRANCIS" Peter
Before I go any further I want to say that I don't advise anyone to freeze their cigars, unless the have a beetle problem. Then you can decide. Most guys never have a problem and that is the norm. Don't worry about it until there's something to worry about. I don't even freeze ALL my stuff now. Maybe 60 70%.
I've had three different beetle incidents. (NONE ASSOCIATED WITH cigar.com) I read everything I could find online. Anyone else can look this stuff up too. There's info out there describing how long it takes to kill beetle eggs at specific temps. I came up with my own simple plan. Zero degrees Fahrenheit (or less) for four days single spaced and ziplocked. Not full boxes. A couple of extra days after that won't hurt. I use a weather thermometer with an outdoor "probe" that I stick in the freezer to check the temp. There's more detail to my method as far as handling the cigars but I won't get into that because it's pretty generic.
I'll say this again. Don't worry about it until there's something to worry about.
Comments
Not an old wives tale. Point of fact, most reputable companies do this already as part of their QA, before the sticks are put into their warehouse inventory. The head merchant here at Ccom has assured us they do it, as do many other merchants. Very normal part of the process, and effective at killing the cigar beetle egg.
Additionally, many folks do freeze cigars before putting them in their own home inventory; if you do a search here you can get some great info on that procedure.
Proper storage of temps below 70 Farenheit in your humi should further prevent any beetle issues.
Finally, if you get a chance stop on in to the newb thread and tell us about yourself? Welcome to the forums!
-Jay
-- Winston Churchill
"LET'S GO FRANCIS" Peter
Before I go any further I want to say that I don't advise anyone to freeze their cigars, unless the have a beetle problem. Then you can decide. Most guys never have a problem and that is the norm. Don't worry about it until there's something to worry about. I don't even freeze ALL my stuff now. Maybe 60 70%.
I've had three different beetle incidents. (NONE ASSOCIATED WITH cigar.com) I read everything I could find online. Anyone else can look this stuff up too. There's info out there describing how long it takes to kill beetle eggs at specific temps. I came up with my own simple plan. Zero degrees Fahrenheit (or less) for four days single spaced and ziplocked. Not full boxes. A couple of extra days after that won't hurt. I use a weather thermometer with an outdoor "probe" that I stick in the freezer to check the temp. There's more detail to my method as far as handling the cigars but I won't get into that because it's pretty generic.
I'll say this again. Don't worry about it until there's something to worry about.
It it is quite dry where I live