Tobacco Beetles :(

[CUBANO]

High Humidity = Mold

High Temperature = Beetles

[smokum]

I use Habanos recommendations . High temp combined with high RH spells disaster.

http://www.cubancigarwebsite.com/info-cigars.htm#Temp_&_Humidity

[kuzi16]

man... that sucks. knock on wood, but in my 7+ years of this hobby i have never once had an issue. i intend to keep it that way.

[Smallclub]

After reading all of this I am going to freeze all of my cigars. Its going to be a huge project, but I am kind of attached to them.... :-)

I have never frozen a cigar in my life, not even those brought from Cuba (the custom rolls go in a separate humidor). Never had a problem. Beetles issues are exaggerated because they are scary. In 10 years of attending many forums I've heard of a single "attack", which occurred in the collection of a guy who traveled a lot and didn't monitor ...

[El Presidente]

Cheers guys. It's my fault really, the NC's were actually some cheap sticks someone picked up for me from the Canary Islands. I think they were the source, rather than the Cubans in the humidor. I Inspect my sticks regularly and I saw some signs a couple of weeks ago (little piles of cigar dust by the NC's) just before i left for my holidays but i couldn't see anything else so assumed it was me bumping them around which was causing the dust piles. I inspected again when i got back and saw nothing. Added several new purchases to the humi (including BHK52, RYJ Hermosos #2, Boli 108 ).

In years gone by when tobaco beetle was a relatively common experience in a warehouse I learnt that Beetles will migrate to the better, oilier cigars if given a choice. Smart bastards

[CanuckSARTech]

I have never frozen a cigar in my life, not even those brought from Cuba (the custom rolls go in a separate humidor). Never had a problem. Beetles issues are exaggerated because they are scary. In 10 years of attending many forums I've heard of a single "attack", which occurred in the collection of a guy who traveled a lot and didn't monitor ...

To the best of my memory, there's been at least ten or twelve different threads on here started by individual members regarding a beetle infestation. Over 7,000 members, thousands of threads during the last 6 years or so, and about a dozen that I can recollect - granted, not a ton, but definitely not as minimal as you describe either, IMO.

Freezing is insurance. It's just an option for people - everyone's wants and needs may vary.

[Jnaube]

Tell me, can your cigars still be affected be beetles if you froze them all? Lets say you froze all of your cigars but, accidentally, stored them at a really humid place? Hypothetically saying?

[Rushman]

If you didn't freeze at cold enough temps or not for long enough or stored next to infected cigars yes, otherwise no

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[Rushman]

And it's more heat related then humidify.

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[Jnaube]

How cold is cold enough? How long is long enough?

[Rushman]

How cold is cold enough? How long is long enough?

I dont know the details, but I have seen people quote figures here - lets put it this way, I use a stand alone freezer to freeze mine, not the one on top of my fridge, well actually its on the bottom of my fridge but you get the picture

[brazoseagle]

I have government grade sub/zero laboratory quick freeze units. If everyone would just send me their stash of cigars, I can take care of the problem in 6 hours. Pm me for my address to send your cigars to!

[Rushman]

I have government grade sub/zero laboratory quick freeze units. If everyone would just send me their stash of cigars, I can take care of the problem in 6 hours. Pm me for my address to send your cigars to!

PO Box Bite Me

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[brazoseagle]

PO Box Bite Me

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Your Mom!

[seanbeer]

i freeze mine at my domesetic freezer for one week.

I don't have temp control and they get to well over 30C during summer here, i store each and every single box with its own zip lock bag. so far I am still lucky, been doing this for 2 years now.

[canadianbeaver]

This has been covered many times here. FOH guys here refrigerate for 2-3 days; freeze 5-7 days; refrigerate 2-3 days.

As for cigars that have a remote chance of live beetle activity, no thank you. Barf. But if three holes, perhaps a flute?

[Rushman]

Your Mom!

Tu abuela!

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[CanuckSARTech]

How cold is cold enough? How long is long enough?

There's a study document that was shared a number of years ago. You can find it many places:

Low-Temperature Disinfestation of Tobacco Beetles (research article).pdf

It depends on the temperature of your fridge and/or freezer for the different stages. But generally, for a normal household freezer, you're looking at 24 hours once they're at temp. So, pending your freezer falling within that guideline, a good number to shoot for is 2 days fridge, 2 days freezer, 2 days fridge, IMO.