Is this a problem?
- Thread starter zyxwvutsr
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ChuckMejia
The General
Damn beetles!
Bastards!
Bastards!
Yup, beetles. I saw the hole in a cigar of mine a while back and immediately took it out and smoked it anyway. And I must've killed the little bastard because he fell out of one of the holes he created when I smoked it.
Check your stash though and freeze the smokes.
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Check your stash though and freeze the smokes.
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I'd check the drawers and shelves too. Maybe take a dry cloth to them??
I took all the drawers out one by one and inspected my cigars that were in them to make sure none of the little bastards were still around. I gently cleaned off the drawers with a dry towel and rotated the stash then put them back in humidor.
Others might have suggestions or something they do when this happens to them.
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StogieNinja
Derek | BoM June 2014
Most recommend wiping down with isopropyl alcohol. If it's one of the smaller, wooden humidors, I would just bag it freeze it separately as well, then re-season. I wouldn't trust just wiping it down to remove any larvae.
Here's a good article.
https://www.jrcigars.com/blending-room/university/beetles/2015/06/22/
As for the holes:
https://www.jrcigars.com/blending-room/university/beetles/2015/06/22/
As for the holes:
Thanks, all, for the information and advice.
I have put all of the cigars from the humidor into a gallon ZipLock bag and they are currently chilling in the refrigerator. I'm going to put the humidor into the freezer as well once I get it wrapped in plastic wrap (my wife was freaked out about the idea of bug eggs and larvae in with our food so the plastic wrap is mostly to mollify her) and figure out how to make enough room for it.
Though I haven't yet gone over all of the sticks with a magnifying glass to look for pinholes, the only holes I saw were under the band and I am still holding out hope that the band stopped them.
Fortunately I have a bunch of cigars in a airtight Lexan container that were never mixed in with the infested stick. (Though I'll inspect those as well.) That's more than enough to get me past the rehab time.
If I understand the issue properly the best way to avoid experiencing this in the future would be to get a wineador. The investment makes sense considering the replacement cost of the sticks currently chilling in the refrigerator. I'm hoping that my wife's reaction to the very idea of bugs will remove any objections to the purchase!
I have put all of the cigars from the humidor into a gallon ZipLock bag and they are currently chilling in the refrigerator. I'm going to put the humidor into the freezer as well once I get it wrapped in plastic wrap (my wife was freaked out about the idea of bug eggs and larvae in with our food so the plastic wrap is mostly to mollify her) and figure out how to make enough room for it.
Though I haven't yet gone over all of the sticks with a magnifying glass to look for pinholes, the only holes I saw were under the band and I am still holding out hope that the band stopped them.
Fortunately I have a bunch of cigars in a airtight Lexan container that were never mixed in with the infested stick. (Though I'll inspect those as well.) That's more than enough to get me past the rehab time.
If I understand the issue properly the best way to avoid experiencing this in the future would be to get a wineador. The investment makes sense considering the replacement cost of the sticks currently chilling in the refrigerator. I'm hoping that my wife's reaction to the very idea of bugs will remove any objections to the purchase!
I suggest you get some gallon FREEZER bags and put about 10 cigars per bag. Remove as much air as possible and then double bag with another freezer bag. They have to go in the freezer for at least 72 hours. Remove from freezer and roll bags in a bath towel and I put them in a cooler for 24 hours to slowly bring them back to temp and then they are ready to go in a clean humidor. I have never heard of freezing a humidor. It may be fine, but I would be worried such a rapid change of temp and humidity might damage the seal. I would shake and wipe it out real good and take a shop vac to it really good focusing on the nooks and crannies.
mjones9630
Who?
How? It was a La Aroma de Cuba, and, yes it was mixed in with a bunch of other brands in my humidor. I think it's fair to say that I got careless with my protection because the humidor is at room temperature: generally 73 - 76 degrees.
I never put cigars in my home humidor without freezing them first, unless theyre super HTF. Padron and LAdC are the worst for beetles, never had one in a fuente or AJF. Ive never noticed a difference in flavor from freezing when done properly, and I like the peace of mind (not having a wineador, my humi gets up to 80 degrees sometimes)
Since 72 hours is recommended, and theyd probably be frozen by then, I think 5 days is a bit of overkill but they should be alright, as long as you thaw them real slow
When I get new sticks of any kind, from any source ... I always vacuum seal the sticks with a FoodSaver, then place bag in a gallon Ziplock freezer bag, place them in the refrigerator for 24 hours, then throw it in the deep freeze chest for 4 days, then into the fridge for 24 hours, then in the tupperdor ... which is at a constant and monitored 64* in my office's server room. I have too much $$ devoted to the lifestyle to warrant risking the sticks to a preventable demise.
