Bugs

[JCHouston]

Just opened a Zino. The one in the silver wrapper. My first encounter with bugs.

Anyone ever see anything like this?

JC

[mauied1101]

you have tobacco beetles. that's very bad. or not good. or both.

means the temperature where the sticks are is too high.

your options - freeze the cigar, then thaw in the fridge... or chuck it. either way, it needs to be apart from the rest of your sticks. and if this was with a bunch of sticks, i'd put them all in the freezer.

[CgarDan]

How big or small ar ethe cigar beatles ? If that is the stick you just opened where are the critters

[JCHouston]

Dan - looked close but didn't see the critters. The 1st thing I noticed when I opened the wrapper was that the stick was covered with what felt like heavy dust or grit. Thats when I looked closer and saw the damage. I will return it to my local shop tomorrow for a refund and also warn them about this particular brand and problem.

JC

[Shagaroo]

That hole in it is a pretty good indication that little bugger has left the building and is investing heavily in other real estate within your humidor. Everything in that humidor needs to hit the freezer or be tossed.

Beetle Information

[Desert Rat]

Very bad stuff. You might have lucked out with the foil. The foil around the Zino's is pretty tough stuff. If you opened the cigar outside the humi and didn't get the cigar around any others, you might be ok.

[Kenyth]

I've been curious about CO2 as an effective preservative/fumigant for cigars (or anything else) for quite some time. Here's an interesting link. If you know someone with a home beer keg/tap system, you can get CO2 from them. Otherwise, dry ice is your easiest source. You have the added bonus of lowering the cooler temperature as well!


Cabon Dioxide

[Stryprod]

Bummer, sorry 'bout that!

[ggiese]

Take it back and get your money... Don't EVEN think about putting that in your humi... And I'd be very cautious about what you buy from that shop - inspect it VERY closely before you plunk the cash down.

[JCHouston]

I have been buying from this shop for many years. Took it back this morning and they apologized profusely. Replaced it with no problem. Said it was the 2nd Zino from that box that had been returned. It never hit my humidor so no problem about cross contamination.
Unfortunately it still cost me about $30. I just can't seem to be able to go in that place without spending money.
Smoked the replacement Zino when I got home. Favorably impressed. Tons of smoke. A real chugger. Mild and very smooth. Burned even with a nice ash. No bite or aftertaste. Will definitely put this one on the list.

JC

[MarkD60]

I think I have beetles too, I found a cigar with two perfectly round holes, smaller than a pencil lead.
They definitely don't look like the picture.

Can I still smoke it?

[COMB2]

Smoke away! Just have some beetle seasoning. Like relish on a hot dog. No you won't tell a differance

[MarkD60]

I threw away two cigars with beetle holes. I figured people smoked them, because why else would they put them in the freezer and try to save them? But I tossed 'em. With great sadness.

Smoking a cigar is a luxury, I don't have to do it. Why smoke buggy cigars? Now, if I had half my supply with beetle holes, I'd probably think differently!

I bought a 12 bottle wine cooler and keep my humidor in there, as well as a couple of boxes with a humidifier sponge in them. The temp and humidity are both 73.

[JFellows]

First of all, if cigars in your HUMIDOR had beetle holes, then you're going to want to freeze the entire contents of that humidor. Just because you can't see beetle holes in other cigars doesn't mean there aren't eggs in there. IIRC tobacco beetles hatch in the middle of cigars and then eat their way out. Also, an rH of 73 is WAY too high, and certainly isn't reducing your risk. You should aim for 65, or 70 at the max.