With all the talk of beetles...


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Basically, my life went on as before.   Figured on doing the occasional spot check as before, not expecting an issue. 

Until a buddy I just split a box of D4s with (last weekend Saturday) txt me this picture today:

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said he kept trying to draw on the stick and heard a whistle every time.  Eventually occurred to him there was a hole, so he sent along this pic as a heads up to check the rest of the box. Neither he nor I am squeamish (he happily held a finger over the hole and finished the stick) and I headed home to have a look-see.   He took the entire top layer of that box and had only one affected stick. In the remaining 12 I only found this one:

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This box had been in my non-temp controlled cabinet since November 2016.  Temp follows room ambient which has not reached 80° yet this year, and hovered around 70° all winter.  rH at 60-64%.  Figured I'd check the rest of the boxes in residence therein and found one more surprise:

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Box has been in residence since  late last year as well, same cabinet. While I was in there I checked every other stick (40+ boxes). Found nada.  Cleaned off any mold I found on tubos (wait; did I say mold?  Mea culpa.  I expect you all know I meant plume.  I'm an idiot...) and moved everything (almost) into the Icebox Humidor.  The two affected boxes I popped into the freezer for a couple of days. 

Now, my understanding is that these are exit wounds.   I saw nary a beetle (didn't see a wood mite either). I saw no other evidence anywhere. Just wondering when the little effers could have exited these sticks....  Think I did enough?   Think I am being too paranoid?  I'm also wondering, if I had an active beetle in the cab, what's his next move after emerging from a prized cigar.  Do they burrow back in to dine?  Do they hope to hook up with other beetles and get XXX rated?   If they find a mate do they dig in and lay eggs...?  Can't help but wonder if some of the devastation I've seen online is all from an exiting larval bloom and not a propagation of the species....

Could this just be random holes that resemble beetle activity??

Thoughts?

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I prefer Beatles myself.

Oh Darling!

Oh! Darling, please believe me
I'll never do you no harm
Believe me when I tell you
I'll never do you no harm

Oh! Darling, if you leave me
I'll never make it alone
Believe me when I thank you, ooo
Don't ever leave me alone

When you told me
You didn't need me anymore
Well you know I nearly broke down and cried
When you told me
You didn't need me anymore
Well you know I nearly broke down and died

Oh! Darling, if you leave me
I'll never make it alone
Believe me when I tell you
I'll never do you no harm
Believe me darling

When you told me
You didn't need me anymore
Well you know I nearly broke down and cried
When you told me
You didn't need me anymore
Well you know I nearly broke down and died

Oh! Darling, please believe me
I'll never let you down
Oh, believe me darling
Believe me when I tell you, ooo
I'll never do you no harm

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Oh man...why, oh why in the box of Montecristo No. 1's? 

On a serious note though, after 6 months in your storage, wouldn't there be evidenve of more damage by now if these things hatched?

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10 hours ago, BuzzArd said:

Thoughts?

You get to see the occasional beetle hole, even a dead beetle at times, when you are "in business" for not too recently. That just indicates that CUBA has a beetle issue - nothing more.

It has been mentioned in various threads before - In the vast majority of cases these are signs of activity that happened before shipping (i.e. freezing). If you know the whereabouts of your boxes, if you never mix with unfrozen direct imports, customs and splits and trades of questionable origin, you should be fine.

Rule: Everything that does not come through the official direct import channels - off it goes into the freezer.

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Everything goes in the freezer for me, it doesn't matter where it comes from.  Its for my own peace of mind.

Double bag in heavy duty freezer bags

Suck out as much air as possible with a drinking straw

1 day fridge -> 4 days freezer -> 1 day fridge -> few hours on the counter top without opening the bags

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11 hours ago, BuzzArd said:

 

Could this just be random holes that resemble beetle activity??

Thoughts?

Could be, but unless you dissect the cigar and see where the hole leads you won't know for sure. It is very likely that the critter was caught at made into an ice cube before shipping, but you can't be sure, so better to be careful and take precautions. It is for this reason I quarantine any new stock for at least 30-60 days at room temperatures up to 78 degrees. That's not a perfect solution, but it gives me some peace of mind, and fortunately it hasn't led to any problems yet. 

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2 hours ago, JohnS said:

Oh man...why, oh why in the box of Montecristo No. 1's? 

On a serious note though, after 6 months in your storage, wouldn't there be evidenve of more damage by now if these things hatched?

Right?!?

But I'm really thinking these were there upon arrival.  Not in panick mode (far more concerned about humidity and air circulation) than beetles.  

The good news is that's the one I'll be smokin' first!  Relieves my neurosis about pulling the first stick from a box.  

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This got me looking at my stock....found a single hole in a CoRo. Pretty sure it’s been there all along, but I’ll happily set fire to it this weekend just in case :P

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I'm not bragging or wishing the "beetle gods" upset my perfect run since 2012 when I first

became a "made member of "da FOH family" but I have not ever had my cigars violated

by those creppy little thugs.  It has been one less thing to bitch about or get pissed off about

in my life!  Hang in there for those who have had a run in with these bugs, good info

here to combat the little pests.

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  • 3 weeks later...
1 hour ago, Randy956 said:

That sucks. So much for them being frozen before leaving the country of origin.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

The single hole phenomenon is not uncommon. 

This has nothing to do with the cigars not being frozen in Havana by HSA. If they weren't being frozen than that single hole would translate to a box of beetles and dust. 

When we were at the Partagas factory last I and others pointed out the number of beetles jumping around the rollers tables. We were pointing at them. 

This is where the problem lies (not just Partagas). 

I have no idea how that can be solved. 

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Last winter I  found a beatle hole, and it was one of Arturo Fuentes Opus X special cigars. Only had a few of these,  checked the others but didn't find any.  Checked all my cuban cigars (2,000+), took a while, but  all clear. 

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