buckwylde Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 Freeze em and let God sort em out, better safe than sorry. I has a small issue years ago and I started keeping my humi in a temp controlled room and consistently freezing, no issues since.
nick17 Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 had this in a box of H.upmann Le's from 2012, one stick had a hole I didn't notice it until I had been smoking from the box. I haven't had any issues with beetles and if I had noticed when I got the box I would have put them in the freezer to be safe. another question is would any one "risk" smoking that cigar?
MarkofStark Posted January 22, 2014 Author Posted January 22, 2014 As has been said before ...Freeze just to be safe. I have seen this a few times over the past couple of years. Single hole in a single cigar in a box. my theory is that the beetle hatched, and fed between the factory and the HSA warehouse freezer. otherwise your complete box would be in tatters Ah ok, I was trying to think up how it could have happened before it was shipped out and I just couldnt think of it, but I have very little knowledge on the process.
MarkofStark Posted January 22, 2014 Author Posted January 22, 2014 That doesn't look real.... Maybe the Picture isn't helping. Can you post a Picture of the other Cigars you got? Something feels off Here is a pic I took right as I opened the box And here is one I just took, grabbing 3 random ones out to take a pic of the back of the bands
Fuzz Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 another question is would any one "risk" smoking that cigar? No real risk smoking it. The only issue would be not getting a good draw as there is a hole in the wrapper and it would probably tunnel. Once patched a hole with a wet bit of tobacco from the cap. Didn't notice much taste difference, but the burn did get wonky when I got to where the hole was.
nick17 Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 No real risk smoking it. The only issue would be not getting a good draw as there is a hole in the wrapper and it would probably tunnel. Once patched a hole with a wet bit of tobacco from the cap. Didn't notice much taste difference, but the burn did get wonky when I got to where the hole was. Ya I guess there rely would be any risk for me it's just a thought of something else crawling out of the cigar as I'm smoking it
Fuzz Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 Ya I guess there rely would be any risk for me it's just a thought of something else crawling out of the cigar as I'm smoking it Adds flavour!
bugman78629 Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 Is it just me, or does that band look very suspect with the way it is joined in the back? AGREED.....I WAS ABOUT TO SAY THAT.
bugman78629 Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 FREEZE, AND SCRAP THE DAMAGED ONE. EGGS LAY DORMANT AND WILL CONTAMINATE YOUR HUMIDOR.
Firebender Posted January 24, 2014 Posted January 24, 2014 freezing will kill the eggs before beetles
Nino Posted January 24, 2014 Posted January 24, 2014 freezing will kill the eggs before beetles The other way 'round it is. Freezing will kill the beetles. Not enough freezing will leave the eggs intact. Put the box back in warmer, over 22-24 C temp, and the eggs will hatch and the circle will start again. So, do a long ( 4-5 days) and deep freezing if you want piece of mind.
Firebender Posted January 24, 2014 Posted January 24, 2014 The other way 'round it is. Freezing will kill the beetles. Not enough freezing will leave the eggs intact. Put the box back in warmer, over 22-24 C temp, and the eggs will hatch and the circle will start again. So, do a long ( 4-5 days) and deep freezing if you want piece of mind. rephrase: beetles are more likely to survive than eggs if you freeze them for less than a week in regular household refrigerator freezer..
Nino Posted January 24, 2014 Posted January 24, 2014 rephrase: beetles are more likely to survive than eggs if you freeze them for less than a week in regular household refrigerator freezer.. No.
PapaDisco Posted January 26, 2014 Posted January 26, 2014 I've been thinking about keeping a humidor in my Saigon office. Only problem is the lack of air conditioning at night and weekends as well as power outages that let the temperatures soar. If one had faith in the factory freezing then beetles would not be a concern. Otherwise I could freeze my boxes before taking them . . . but this would require negotiating rental space in the wife's freezer . . . Anyway, will give it a shot and just trust to the factory freeze and probably baggie wrap each box just to be safe. The cigars will still suffer from the higher temps, but lack of humidity won't be a problem, and as long as no beetles hatch and eat them up, the sticks should be o.k. for short term storage.
Stanislaw Posted January 26, 2014 Posted January 26, 2014 i wasn't freezing my cigars when a new box would arrive but I had the same issue with a monte 4 this past november when i noticed a hole in the cigar i was smoking and upon further inspection of my humidor located a tiny beetle hanging around a small residue patch on the cedar divider... immediately put all sticks into freezer bags and threw them in, cleaned out the humidor and now I freeze everything... in 18 years of smoking i've seen beetle holes in cigars before and hate to say they were all CC montecristo's...
PapaDisco Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 Aw damn! Just opened a tubo Partagas D4 and out crawled a tobacco beetle! The only hole I could locate was in the foot, not a bore hole like above. The cigar was part of a 5 x 3 pack from Germany: box code LTB May 13. So I guess the factory freezing isn't all that perfect. Now I have to negotiate freezer space for a whole tuperdor of cigars!
Hiroshiro Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 Aw damn! Just opened a tubo Partagas D4 and out crawled a tobacco beetle! The only hole I could locate was in the foot, not a bore hole like above. The cigar was part of a 5 x 3 pack from Germany: box code LTB May 13. So I guess the factory freezing isn't all that perfect. Now I have to negotiate freezer space for a whole tuperdor of cigars! Maybe Tubos aren't so great for Freezing? I always open Tubos to Inspect just incase!
Fuzz Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 Just because HSA freezes all stock, doesn't mean a beetle won't hitch a ride on your sticks further down the distribution chain. If your usual supplier or local B&M stock other cigars or don't have the right conditions to limit outbreaks, then you can possibly get a stowaway.
PapaDisco Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 Maybe Tubos aren't so great for Freezing? I always open Tubos to Inspect just incase! I open and inspect all tubos on arrival as well, and this particular 3 pack has been opened a couple of times in addition to that just to ogle. You understand. Anyway, Nino posted above that Habanos freezes stock by master case, so I suppose it's easy to not get the core of that big block down to freezing for a long enough period and a bug or egg survives. Where I store my cigars it can sometimes get over 72F for a day or two, and that must have been enough to hatch this egg. I assume the bug road in as an egg, since the cigar itself isn't in tatters. So, I have a single tubo from a single box with a single beetle, but the damn thing resided in my brand spanking new 60 gallon Tuperdor, so I now have 300 cigars to cycle through the freezer. The wife is really going to love me for this. How many flowers is it going to cost me? I'll let y'all know!
HabanoHam Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 Seeing beetle holes makes my blood pressure rise and my skin crawl. I had one beetle infestastion a few years ago and since then I freeze everything that comes in. The freezing has been very effective and helped keep my RH% and Temp OCD in check.
El Presidente Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 Anyway, Nino posted above that Habanos freezes stock by master case, so I suppose it's easy to not get the core of that big block down to freezing for a long enough period and a bug or egg survives. Since 2005 I can honestly say a beetle/beetle hole is an irregularity. Prior it was a common occurrence. Keep your wits about you.
HabanoHam Posted January 28, 2014 Posted January 28, 2014 The other way 'round it is. Freezing will kill the beetles. Not enough freezing will leave the eggs intact. Put the box back in warmer, over 22-24 C temp, and the eggs will hatch and the circle will start again. So, do a long ( 4-5 days) and deep freezing if you want piece of mind. How much time must pass for a dormant (unfrozen) beetle egg to no longer become a threat?
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now