So I pulled out an Antano Dark Corojo from my humidor tonight and noticed two tiny round holes in the wrapper. Fearing beetles, I put it in a ziploc and took it to the local B&M. They looked and yep, beetle attack. So now I am fearful for the rest of my stash, especially my LP9's. B&M suggested ziplocing the rest and freezing for a few days + cleaning out the humidor. Is the freezing good advice?
Beetle Attack
- Thread starter Tsd906
- Start date
Its the only way to get rid of them. Freeze them for a few days. Vacuum out the humi. May as well reseason while its cleaned out. Then I would use a cooler or tupperador and bring them slowly back up to proper humidity. Maybe some other brothers here can advise on how to proper rehumidify them.
Rupe
Suburban robot that monitors reality -BOM Feb.'13
Freezing is the only way. My suggestion is to double bag them and put them in the freezer for at least 3 days. 5-7 would be better. Before you put them in the freezer, put them in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. This will help them acclimate to the temperature change without shocking them. After their time in the freezer, put them back in the fridge for a couple of days to transition back to room temperature. While they are undergoing their deep freeze be sure and clean out your humidor with a fine tooth comb.
Good luck!
Rupe
Good luck!
Rupe
When freezing don't overlook the boxes. bdrupe's advice on cleaning out the humidor is spot on. Beetles can be sneaky little buggers (no pun intended), you don't want to miss one of them during the cleaning and freezing process. Personally, I ziplock my cigars and the boxes, separately, before the freezing. The empty boxes go straight into the freezer with no need for the cool down/warm up provided by the fridge before and after freezing.
Good luck
Good luck
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Never like hearing about a stash in trouble; freeze away brother! rupe is spot on with the fridge to acclimate as well. Good luck!
Make sure you freeze correctly. There are many threads here about "what to do." I've never had a beetle issue and I don't freeze incoming stock, so I can't offer any succinct advice, but there have been many a bro in your shoes. I suggest a "beatle" search here in the forums. From what I have read, it's time-consuming and resource heavy...if you wanna do it right.
No doubt about that. I monitor daily which kills consistency within the humi. But...the alternative is worse.
You are not alone brother.... I feel your pain :bigeyes:
I hate checking all the damn time
Freezing is the way to go. I freeze all my new sticks, no matter where they are from. For me, it is straight to the freezer for 4-5 days, then straight to room temp then humidor. Never had a problem (split wrappers) and you can't tell a difference with the taste or performance. There are articles about blind taste tests between frozen/unfrozen sticks and none have showed that anyone can tell.
A lot of the guy here don't check....ever. They trust their system. That's where I wanna be. I'm working on it.
JDog
BoM Nov '12 & May '13
A few guys have suggested this in other threads and it's great advice. If you suspect a beetle has hatched, take the suspected stick and tap the foot on a white sheet of paper. If you see tobacco dust, then you know you have beetles. I honestly don't worry about beetles. I quarantine all of my purchases and gifted cigars in a coolidor before rotating/labeling them into my typical storage. I haven't had an issue in like 8 years and never had a major problem.
How long do you keep your purchased and gifted cigars in quarantine before you bring them into your typical storage?
I only do this in the summer time in case they happen to hatch during shipping with the hotter outside temperatures, but all the other seasons I figure the temp usually will not be above 72ish and if I don't see any beetle holes by the time they reach me than they are unlikely to appear since I keep mine at 65rh.
We tapped the stick on its foot at the B&M and yes, there was black dust and two perfectly round tiny holes. I've double ziploc'd my stash, refrigerated and will freeze for a few days. Humidor has been cleaned thoroughly and is being re-seasoned as we speak. One thing to say: F@*K Beetles! This sucks.
I feel for ya brother!! I admit I do not take precautions with new shipments, but I will from now on!! I keep the RH in my humis fairly low, 65ish, so it's never really been an issue for me...I don't want it to be either! Please post an update on this situation!!
Man I have been seeing a lot of problems with these sticks. Everytime I walk into a B&M these sticks always are moldy. So be aware of that too. Also in the summer from being shipped or getting em from a B&M where the sticks are at a high temp I tend to freeze them just to be cautious.
