small beetle problem

[ReV]

Ok so, I found a solo beetle dieing on the outside of one of my loose sticks in the 120 qt igloo. After inventorying every cigar in there, I isolated the problem to one particular box of cigars that were questionable to begin with. Every cigar in that box had holes and are now in deep freeze. The problem is that the box didn't close very well and a few lil bastards snuck out. All my sticks are in closed boxes except about 50 loose sticks on top. I didn't find any trace of beetles on any of my sticks outside the problem box except one loose cigar. I've sealed up all my loose sticks in ziplocks. I don't have the time or freezer space to freeze every cigar in the cooler, so I decided to separate out everything and occasionally check all the boxes/bags to make sure they're no new developments. Any thoughts on this? am I asking for trouble? Will ziplocks contain new problems?

The whole thing is odd because my cooler usually runs pretty dry. Its only around 64 rh in there, but I guess the heat was enough to cause problems. Any opinions on this would be great as I've never actually had a beetle problem before. If it were my desktop humi, I'd just freeze every stick in there.

[Alcibiates]

I thought beetles didn't care about the RH, just the temperature? In which case your igloo may be running a bit on the warm side and you may want to relocate it--I could very well be wrong here, though.

I would ask a friend if they have a freezer that you could use for a couple days to freeze the sticks just to make sure... But I'm paranoid about things like this and wouldn't want to take the chance of losing anymore sticks to the little buggers.

The method you're using now seems like it will work well enough, so long as there's humidifiers in all of the ziplocs, but I would make sure that everything is being stored <70 degrees, and I would have just pitched the whole box that the beetles came out of. Not sure what would want to make you keep a questionable box of cigars that beetles came out of...

[ReV]

<70 storage is not an option, I wish it were. You're correct on the problem though, the heat is most definitely what hatched the things. The house rides around 75, but over the summer the heat was too much for the AC and it was close to 77ish. I think they like it humid, but at these temps, it probably doesn't matter much. Thinking about it, I may go ahead and freeze all of the loose sticks, but I honestly don't have the resources for the ones in the boxes; 'wait and see' will have to do. My real problem now is back to the problem I've had all summer, how the hell can I lower the temp in my cooler without lowering the whole house.

[here'sjohnny]

ReV, in regards to your temperature problem, would it be possible to switch from a coolidor to a wine cooler? i know the switch may cost more, but the wine cooler could be set to the proper temp with a few modifications from the few things ive read on here. Don't know if it will work for you, buts its an option.

[CAJUNBLAZE]

I wonder if anyone has tried a small ice pack. Say like one of those small ziploc bags, freeze water in it, then wrap it in a paper towel and put it in another ziploc. I have the same problem, during the summer it can get as high as 78 in the house.

Rich

[DeeDubya]

I'm thinking about converting one of the "thermoelectric" wine coolers for my long term storage. They draw minimal current and can easily cool down to 60 or so. It would be a bargain compared to loosing a couple grand in stogs.

[ashauler]

I wonder if anyone has tried a small ice pack. Say like one of those small ziploc bags, freeze water in it, then wrap it in a paper towel and put it in another ziploc. I have the same problem, during the summer it can get as high as 78 in the house.

Rich

Try the blue-ice pack thingys, I've heard tell they work. They are most efficient used in combination with beads to regulate the humdity as the ice pack sweats. YMMV.

[Shelby07]

Hey Timm - I don't think there is such a thing as a "small" beetle problem. Take everything and distribute them to your friends to put in their freezers for 3-5 days. Make sure they put them in the refrigerator section for a day or so when they take them out.

Sorry to hear about the outbreak, but don't take a chance. If the little buggers did lay a new batch of eggs, there could be hundreds of them and you won't know about them for a few weeks.

Good luck!

EDIT: Be sure to clean out the igloo when it's empty.

[ReV]

Hey Timm - I don't think there is such a thing as a "small" beetle problem. Take everything and distribute them to your friends to put in their freezers for 3-5 days. Make sure they put them in the refrigerator section for a day or so when they take them out.

Sorry to hear about the outbreak, but don't take a chance. If the little buggers did lay a new batch of eggs, there could be hundreds of them and you won't know about them for a few weeks.

Good luck!

EDIT: Be sure to clean out the igloo when it's empty.

I emptied. cleaned and surveyed. Maybe i'm being niave, but I honestly don't think the things could physically get into most of my boxes as they're very tightly sealed and there was no evidence of beetles inside. The infestation was relatively new as there were only a few holes in a few sticks for the moment and everything that was loose or in a box that didn't seal well is now in the freezer. If you think they could have gotten in the closed boxes, I may try to find some way to get all the sticks in the freezer (like I said, I've never personally dealt with these), but I'm pretty confident in my selective freezing method. Luckily, its getting cooler here so I don't have to worry about cooling down my humis again for a few months at least.

[CAJUNBLAZE]

Try the blue-ice pack thingys, I've heard tell they work. They are most efficient used in combination with beads to regulate the humdity as the ice pack sweats. YMMV.

So, you have heard of this working?
Is it searchable here, I couldn't find anything.

I would freeze my whole stash, even if I had to do in two or three stages. Rotate the ones in the freezer to the fridge, then place another batch in the freezer and so on.

Rich

[ReV]

So, you have heard of this working?
Is it searchable here, I couldn't find anything.

I would freeze my whole stash, even if I had to do in two or three stages. Rotate the ones in the freezer to the fridge, then place another batch in the freezer and so on.

Rich

Thats not a half bad idea, rotating freezer space.

[CAJUNBLAZE]

Thats not a half bad idea, rotating freezer space.

Thanks Rev, nice coming from a senior member!


Rich

[Shelby07]

I emptied. cleaned and surveyed. Maybe i'm being niave, but I honestly don't think the things could physically get into most of my boxes as they're very tightly sealed and there was no evidence of beetles inside. The infestation was relatively new as there were only a few holes in a few sticks for the moment and everything that was loose or in a box that didn't seal well is now in the freezer. If you think they could have gotten in the closed boxes, I may try to find some way to get all the sticks in the freezer (like I said, I've never personally dealt with these), but I'm pretty confident in my selective freezing method. Luckily, its getting cooler here so I don't have to worry about cooling down my humis again for a few months at least.

I guess I wouldn't take the chance. If they have started a cycle, cooler weather won't stop it. Freezing the cigars is cheap insurance. The little buggers scare me.

If you do rotate in and out of the freezer, take them all out and store them in a double plastic trash bag until you have space to put them in the freezer. That should keep the RH pretty stable. I wouldn't mix the ones you take out of the freezer with the ones that haven't been frozen yet... but that's just me.

[ReV]

I guess I wouldn't take the chance. If they have started a cycle, cooler weather won't stop it. Freezing the cigars is cheap insurance. The little buggers scare me.

If you do rotate in and out of the freezer, take them all out and store them in a double plastic trash bag until you have space to put them in the freezer. That should keep the RH pretty stable. I wouldn't mix the ones you take out of the freezer with the ones that haven't been frozen yet... but that's just me.

I'm with you on the not mixing, I'm just wondering if there is a decent enough chance that they got to all the cigars I have in closed boxes? Most of my cooler sticks were in closed and latched cigar boxes, most of which have a pretty tight seal on... are those sticks at risk from the beetles in the open part of the cooler? Is the 'wait and see game' too dangerous? Or are the odds in my favor that the sticks in the closed boxes are still OK and thus regularly checking on them for the next few months would be sufficient? To me, freezing those cigars would be like freezing the sticks in all your different humis when only one was infested.

[lement92]

make sure you check the boxes good though. i have heard of them eating through wooden boxes.

[ReV]

make sure you check the boxes good though. i have heard of them eating through wooden boxes.

Good call, I found this out earlier tonight. No more damage, but I did find two dead beetles that I somehow missed in yesterday's inventory. Luckily, I also remembered that I have this lovely little mini fridge from my dorm that use to freeze my soft drinks solid and is now being used to keep my beers frosty cold. Long story short, I did a container switch and my igloo is being used for its original purpose of keeping my beers cold and the mini fridge is freezing my cigars solid. It took all night and every damn freezer bag in the house, but every one of my cigars from my cooler is now in deep freeze. Now I just gotta hope that my triple bagging methods and transition periods keep my cigars from splitting open. I now have two questions for anyone who may know the answers....

a) My cigars are in large chunks, all packed together (probably 25 to a 1gallon freezer bag). How much extra freeze time should I count on to make sure everything gets down to the correct temp?

b) when everything is ready to go back in the cooler; the cooler is cleaned out, the cigars are treated, what about the boxes? Should I scrap the old boxes just in case there are more beetles lurking (they evaded my inspection last night somehow) or will the boxes be safe to use after sitting out while the cigars are in freeze?

[DeeDubya]

http://www.cgarsltd.co.uk/document.p...Tobacco+Beetle

One of the best articles I have read on the "Beetle Plague".

[CAJUNBLAZE]

That was a good article. I wouldn't think it would take 4 days in deep freeze to kill the beetles and larvae.

I guess if you wanted to keep the boxes, the only safe way would be to freeze them.

Rich

[Shelby07]

I read an article some time back on a "taste test" done on previously frozen vs non-frozen cigars. The result was that the effect was minimal to non-existent. In fact, there are lots of smokers who freeze everything before they go into their humidor. Just be sure to move them from the freezer into the fridge for a day before they go back so they don't crack or split.


...and I'd freeze the boxes, too.