Beetle question

[cincycigarman]

FOGS - I have my first beetle problem. I read most of the beetle threads on the forum, went over all of the freezing tips, etc. The situation is this: I just started a cooler-dor last week. I bought a cheap bundle of smokes at a local B&M about 3 weeks ago ($44 for 25 sticks). I put them in their own box, first just in my basement (about 68 degrees and 55 RH) and then in my cooler (66 degrees and 72-74 RH, using PG).

Tonight I was going through my humidor, found 2 cigars in this box of the cheap bundle cigars with beetle holes. I have 4-5 other boxes in this humidor, most contain various singles (some pretty nice) that I have picked up.

My question for you FOGS is, as I have removed the offending box of sticks, should I freeze all of the other ones in the other 4-5 boxes as has been suggested in other threads? Is there a very good chance the beetles moved from the infected box to another one?

Please give me any and all suggestions on how I should proceed to protect my other singles, and eradicate the problem as much as I can...I am a little freaked out since I just got started and already have been hit.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Matt

 

[grateful1]

FOGS - I have my first beetle problem. I read most of the beetle threads on the forum, went over all of the freezing tips, etc. The situation is this: I just started a cooler-dor last week. I bought a cheap bundle of smokes at a local B&M about 3 weeks ago ($44 for 25 sticks). I put them in their own box, first just in my basement (about 68 degrees and 55 RH) and then in my cooler (66 degrees and 72-74 RH, using PG).

Tonight I was going through my humidor, found 2 cigars in this box of the cheap bundle cigars with beetle holes. I have 4-5 other boxes in this humidor, most contain various singles (some pretty nice) that I have picked up.

My question for you FOGS is, as I have removed the offending box of sticks, should I freeze all of the other ones in the other 4-5 boxes as has been suggested in other threads? Is there a very good chance the beetles moved from the infected box to another one?

Please give me any and all suggestions on how I should proceed to protect my other singles, and eradicate the problem as much as I can...I am a little freaked out since I just got started and already have been hit.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Matt

I'm not a FOG...too good looking!



You answered your own question!

Good luck with the pests!

 

[Shooter]

I agree

 

[Infinity]

I'm not a FOG either but I'm much better looking than Grateful1 :laugh:

Unless I'm reading this wrong. The sticks in question have been in their own box.

Why freeze your entire stock, just freeze the sticks from the infected box.
It is unlikly that the culprets have burrowed their way into another box.

Brian

 

[cincycigarman]

Shooter, Grateful1 - Thanks guys, I just wanted some confirmation of what I felt was probably the right course to take. I still cannot believe this happened to me when I am literally 10 days into having the coolerdor set up!!! It kind of freaked me out.

Brian - the infected cigars have been in their own box. I was wondering if they most likely would have made it from one box to another.

I think I will err on the side of caution and freeze 'em all just to be safe.

(edited for add'l comment)

Thanks.

 

[theorangeman]

I'm not a FOG either but I'm much better looking than Grateful1 :laugh:

Unless I'm reading this wrong. The sticks in question have been in their own box.

Why freeze your entire stock, just freeze the sticks from the infected box.
It is unlikly that the culprets have burrowed their way into another box.

Brian

Don't kid yourself, both of you guys are ugly as hell. :laugh:

As for it being unlikely that the little bastads have burrowed their way into another box, I wouldn't be so confident if it were my collection of smokes. I'd probably go ahead and just freeze them all to be on the safe side. If you want to hear a sad story, ask SmokyBalls about his experience with beetles. It will make you want to cry. ???

 

[Shooter]

What temperature are your cigars beeing stored? If I remember correctly beetles hatch around 80f, or you could have just brought em home with ya!!!

 

[cincycigarman]

theorangeman - Thanks for the feedback, I thought I had ready about smokyballs' beetle incident, it must have been someone else's. Anyhow, I think after I read a few was when I hit panic mode and realized I'd better get some input on this and not take it lightly.

Shooter - the sticks were right at 66 degrees, RH was 72-74, maybe my humidity is a tad high. I think I will bump it down to 60-65, use some viper beads instead of PG.

As theorangman suggests, I am going to err on the safe side and freeze 'em all!

 

[N2Advnture]

DEFINITELY err on the safe side bro!

There is a reason that people have had ENTIRE collections completely ruined by them.

I would also send some emails or pm's to those whom you may have sent cigars to that were stored in the same humidor as "head's up".

~Mark

 

[grateful1]

DEFINITELY err on the safe side bro!

There is a reason that people have had ENTIRE collections completely ruined by them.

I would also send some emails or pm's to those whom you may have sent cigars to that were stored in the same humidor as "head's up".

~Mark

Excellent point! :thumbs:

 

[Ginseng]

Beetle eggs get the wake up call around 75F, 75%RH. Any hotter and moister and they're loving it.

If your box was well sealed, then chances are that any hatched larvae will be happily munching in the box they were born in. If you do not see beetle crap in the bottom of the infected box, then the infestation is still in its early stages.

I would definitely freeze the infected box. To do this, in a way that minimizes potential damage to the cigars, follow this procedure.

1. Wrap the entire box in a several layers of plastic wrap.
2. Wrap the box in aluminum foil making sure to cover all gaps.
3. Put the wrapped box inside a ziploc freezer bag.
4. Put the box into your veggie crisper for 1 day.
5. Put the box into your fridge for 4 days.
6. Put the box into your veggie crisper for 1 day.
7. Leave the wrapped box out in your room for a half day.
8. Peel the wrapping and put it into your humidor.

As to whether to freeze the rest of your stash...I'd check your cooler and your boxes. If they look clean, chances are you'll be ok from cross contamination. If you are very concerned, by all means, freeze it all.

Here's my recent beetle infestation thread.

Beetles and their crap

Wilkey

Edit to add link

 

[cincycigarman]

DEFINITELY err on the safe side bro!

There is a reason that people have had ENTIRE collections completely ruined by them.

I would also send some emails or pm's to those whom you may have sent cigars to that were stored in the same humidor as "head's up".

~Mark

Mark - Thanks for that suggestion. Fortunately, I have not sent any cigars out to anyone yet. I have a newbie trade coming in-bound from bmickey9, but have not sent anything to anyone. That's a good suggestion though.

I wonder if it might be a good idea to PIN a beetle thread, with a step by step of what to do from start to finish, similar to the Cooler-dor thread! I learned alot from reading lots of cigar beetle threads, but pinning it all in one place might help the next newbie. Notifying any recent recipients would be an important step in the list. Just a thought.

Wilkey - I am going to freeze and follow your steps, you are right, I do not want to risk losing the (small) collection I have, especially when it seems I caught this pretty early and can prevent a total loss. Thanks!

Matt

 

[taltos]

Last year I ordered 5 boxes of Sancho Panza Barcelonas and a box of TeAmo Anniversarios along with a bundle of Quorum Coronas (keep them as a mooch and golf smoke). The Quorums had 2 infected sticks, which surprised me since they are cheap, but are from Newman. Sacrificed all surrounding Quorums and froze everything else in the shipment. Also contacted the vendor and he replaced the entire order with no return-did not want the stock back in case some was infected. Will not name the vendor since it was over a year ago and I basically got 2 orders for the price of one. Any cigars that arrive at my house go into their own quarantine container to allow them to come up to proper humidity and to isollate parisites. Paul