Gentlemen,
Unless you are using a commercial type freezer that can reach temperatures of -40 degrees, freezing your cigars is, well, like using duct tape to patch a garden hose leak. In other words this is a temporary fix. I know this from personal experience and research over the years. Larvae can survive extended periods of exposure to temperatures of 0 degrees just fine. Even with professional fumigation and/or commercial freezing, you are still rolling the dice. It could just be a matter of time and luck. The "safe time frame" really depends on what degree of fumigation (read: GAS) was done to the cigars before they left the factory and also on what type of tobacco you're dealing with; because certain tobaccos are far more prone to infestation. A professional fumigation will only assure a 12-18 month safety window. Sorry, but that's the reality. AS I mentioned, keep in mind that certain tobaccos are more prone to larvae than others, but, that's another subject. The reality is that ALL cigar tobacco veins are home to microscopic beetle larvae, I don't care what cigar brand is involved. I repeat, ALL tobacco has dormant microscopic larvae in the juice of the veins. So, between the time the cigars leave the factory to the time you receive them, chances are that along the way somewhere, the cigars may have been exposed to an unfortunate but optimum temp/humidity level which is the perfect hatching environment. This "perfect" environment is usually created around 75 degrees and 75% humidity. In this environment larvae will awaken, hatch, an now start their quest to burrow out of the cigar in search of water. This may only have affected 1 cigar out of thousand, but if you happen to get THAT cigar, it's enough to cause an outbreak for you. And unfortunately it can take weeks or months before you notice any outwardly signs of an impending infestation. This is a problem that we manufacturers face every single day.
If you follow the following course of action, you will be one step ahead of a possible disaster. Regularly inspect every single cigar in every single box you are keeping in your humidors. The best way to do this is to get a piece of bright white paper and gently tap the foot of all the cigars, one by one, over the paper. If you see microscopic "dust like" particles (not small pieces of tobacco) peppering the paper, you can be absolutely certain that you have an infected cigar, or worse yet, cigars. You can also be certain that you will soon have a major outbreak. This is the first stage of an infestation. This early warning technique will save you a lot of heartache and will give you the ability to immediately pull any infected cigar or cigars, which by the way, are still very smokeable at this point. The other cigars in close proximity to a compromised cigar may or may not have been infected. Usually the infection starts with one cigar because only one beetle has hatched and immediately starts munching on neighboring cigars, thus the appearance of the dreaded "hole". This of course is a best case scenario. However, if cigars of the same batch or in the same box have traveled together (let's say in a box of 20 or 25) chances are that you can expect several, if not all, of those cigars to be affected. Now, the problem has become exponential. So, don't wait until you find those dreaded holes with scores of little bastards having lunch at your the expense of your hard earned money. I hope this helps. Good Luck.
Cheers,
