Beetles in Behikes!

[AlohaStyle]

I wanted to pass along this video from friends Simon and Marc who I met in Havana. Simon said I can share the video that he posted on his site which I wanted to share the lesson with BOTLs here. With a recent experience with beetles and now this video, I think I might be moving to the "freezing" philosophy of cigar storage... you just never know!

Simon purchased a single Behike while in Havana (I don't know where it came from) and brought it home to enjoy later on. When he pulled out the cigar, he noticed some dust falling out the bottom and they decided to do some dissection... please don't watch if you are eating!?! LOL

http://sticksanddrinks.com/post/39135835999/tobacco-beetles-in-a-cohiba-behike-cigar


[video=youtube;LgABZLqYgsE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LgABZLqYgsE[/video]

 

[jwyatt55]

May start freezing also after seeing this!

 

[MoJo]

damn, as if my fear of beetles wasn't bad enough...

Also, probably shouldn't watch this while smoking a cigar either lol

side question: Are beetles more of an issue with CCs or NCs or is there really no difference in the risk (assuming vendors store the cigars properly)?

 

[topmstr]

^^^ same...thinking of circulating things through the freezer now for prevention...

 

[SDShark]

Poor Behike...

 

[javajunkie]

damn, as if my fear of beetles wasn't bad enough...

Also, probably shouldn't watch this while smoking a cigar either lol

side question: Are beetles more of an issue with CCs or NCs or is there really no difference in the risk (assuming vendors store the cigars properly)?

i have heard of NC manufacturers freezing either leaf or rolled product, but damned if i can cite it, so may be my imagination.

and, NO, this is NOT a regional thing. you have tobacco, you have beetles. you can't spray tobacco (if you want it to be worth a damn), so you deal with it as you can. IIRC, a major part of keeping temp and humidity regular for stogies is to keep the life cycle of the beetle from kicking into the "on" position.

and i have personally frozen opi, padronses, and tats to no ill effect (when done with time and care).

god rest that poor cigar!

 

[ZachF88]

Padron freezes their cigars when they hit Miami!

 

[Reelman]

My understanding (from an article by David Savona of CA) is that all Habanos product is frozen at the central distribution facility in Havana for 24-48 hours prior to shipment.

 

[stukibuilt]

That's a shame. I've been paranoid about beetles off and on and I've been lucky so far, but I'd hate to wake up one morning to find my sticks are a beetle buffet... :barf: Thanks for sharing! It's definitely got me thinking again.

 

[ironchefscott]

This video just makes me so sad. Also paranoid! Going to smoke a really nice cigar just in case tomorrow.

 

[heavyd]

I'd smoke that MF anyway A little dust never hurt nobody, right Jeffrey?

jk...my condolences.

 

[Cigary43]

Freezing when you see the actual infestation is what needs to be done to kill the larvae. Freezing should be done at a temp that is conducive to kill the infestation. Most reviews will just say to throw it in your freezer for 3 days and then put in your fridge for a day or two after and then back to your humidor. The following is the number of hours required to kill these beetles at various stages of their life cycle when they were exposed to 23° F / -5° C (Imai and Harad, 2006):

Eggs - 48 hours
Larval - 96 hours
Pupal - 48 hours
Adult - 72 hours

Remember to clean your humidor where the cigars were stored...some forget to do this and just return the cigars right back into the bad environment. This means thoroughly cleaning the humidor... re season and putting the cigars back into a good environment.

 

[HarleyMark13]

Man that blows. Just checked my bke 54's (real close) and everyone else looks good. I'm very paranoid of these little bastards!

 

[KcJason1]

I freeze everything CC... I don't freeze NC, but those are kept separate.

 

[Jfire]

I would like to point out first that this cigar was not purchased outside of the country. Cuba freezes everything before shipping. I could see freezing cigars like these behikes that were bought in country. But your home freezer does not get cold enough or cold fasr enough! This has been talked about many times here. If it makes you feel better or sleep better then I would cont to freeze. I'll stick to the camp of lower Humidor temps for the whole year. ( I know some can't) But would also subscribe then to the "hey I just got these, better sit them in humidor A (or a tupperdor) for 4 months before they go into Humidor B"
Humdor B being the one that houses 5k dollars worth of your cigars. Also shows why full box storage (segregation) has it's benifits. People have asked me why i keep many boxes half or less then half full instead of just added them to other singles. Seven saved 5 y.o. Sir Winnies are priceless when the beatlle came from a daily EPC short run per say.
Thanks for the video Ryan!

 

[Danfish98]

That's a frightening video. Almost shed a tear for the BHK.

 

[burghblast]

Wow. I've only been smoking for about 6 months. Haven't had a problem with beetles yet (as far as I know). This is scary.

 

[tylernim]

Sigh, this post has got my blood pressure up. I've never been into freezing, but I keep getting closer.

 

[NCost]

I've been smoking for 20years and guess I have been "lucky" as I've never had a beetle problem.

My cigars do see the deep freeze (not your standard freezer) for 4 days before going in the fridge for 5 days and then the humi.

 

[tylernim]

Yep, today I came home and double bagged all of my sticks. I don't have a huge collection...better start now while it's not too much to keep track of.