http://www.the-piedpiper.co.uk/th7m.htm 

Sorry to keep spamming...try this link instead

A real horror story! If it could happen to you it could happen to any of us. The only time I ever had it happen was many, many years ago. You need to be sure it's a beetle. When I had my experience/infestation the little buggers were EVERY WHERE. If I saw one I saw 150! I guess if conditions are right for hatching, they all hatched. If you saw just one, there's hope that it could have been another type of insect (with the right conditions for hatching, why just one?). I was on a trip when it happened to me and didn't discover the problem until I got back, so I lost all of my cigars. Good luck to you.

Yeaup, that's the critter... There was one. I started bagging last night but ended up at the local bar and got drunk and played trivia instead (lost). Going to complete and freeze this AM. Still haven't found a cigar with holes or another beetle.

Man, that's a real shame... 😞

This is to cigars as the sinking of the Titanic was to passenger ships.

I hope you can get rid of those bugs and not ruin your smokes.

Yo Robby: You sure that it's a good idea to suck the air out of the bags, won't it put pressure on the cigar wrappers? Just a thought. JonR

I hope all goes well and they die a slow and painful death in the freezer, the little bastards. Let us know how it turns out. I can only imagine the sick feeling upon realizing the were beetles present. Hopefully, they didn't get too much. Best wishes

Hang in there, Robby.

Sorry to hear about the problem. I wish I could help. Would it make sense to isolate the boxes and keep an eye on them and only freeze the ones that show bugs?

Jim

This has made me so paranoid that I spent the entire morning hand inspecting 1000+ cigars. It has been so brutally hot here in Houston that it is costing me a fortune to keep the house cool too. Best of luck on your search and destroy mission Robby.

JonR - actually no. In fact, most cigar producers put bales of tobacco in vacuum chambers as part of the production process, and the lack of are causes the loss of pressure which causes beetle eggs to explode.

But I guess some of them can still survive...or maybe some tobacco accidentally skips the vacuum chamber process...dunno, it's just what I've read

Hi,

This has made me think about the temp in my coolerdors (~75F). Has anyone used non-water cool packs in their cooler-dors? I was thinking of cooling some in the refrigerator (not freezer) and putting them into the 'dors. The insulation is very good perhaps weekly refresh would do. Condensation should be avoided or kept from the boxes naturally.

Yo ikonoklast7: What you stated is most likely correct, however there is a difference in bales of tobacco and rolled cigars. Placing cigars in a plastic bag then sucking the air out will put pressure on the outside of the cigars and slightly compress the cigars, then freezing will hold the cigars in that position and when thawing the cigars will expand, and as cigar wrappers are extremely thin there is a possibility of spliting and cracking. This is my opinion, I hope I'm wrong because Robby has been through enough having beetles an all. JonR

I'm truly sorry to hear that Robby! I hope the freezer method works for you and kills those pesty beetles and all of the eggs.

Classy move on the box pass. You handled that very well and I'm glad to be in the pass with you! If you are interested in any of he gars I took from the box pass then just let me now and I'll gladly exchange/trade with you. Hell, if you are interested in any particular cigar, email me and I'll see if I have them and can help you out.

Matt

Just got back from a weekend trip to see the folks. The box goes out tomorrow unopened to continue on the pass 😞

I got my gars from the ploomidor bagged up and in the freezer so I'm interested in seeing how that whole process works. Everything I've read seems to be positive, i.e., no lasting effects.

I used gallon ziplock freezer bags. about half full, then as much air out as possible, then two of those into another bag and sealed.

It was quite a load... I didn't get any pics, but will when I take them from the freezer to the fridge. They went in Saturday AM, so I figure Tuesday night, I'll transfer them to the fridge, the Wednesday night into a cooler. Then Friday night, back in to the cleaned and vacuumed ploomidor.

Interestingly enough, when I was pulling my cigars out and bagging them, I could find NONE with holes! As I was going through the top shelf, I spotted another beetle. This was only the second I had seen, AH HA! And I bagged him! He’s in the freezer now, I’ll post a pic so folks can know what to look for.

The good news, incredible news? Is that I saw one lone beetle which put me in to action. Then while bagging, I saw one more and no damaged cigars? I’m sure they came from somewhere, so I may have over looked the cigar they came from. Perhaps it was in cello and I simply couldn’t see the hole, but again, just two bugs! I couldn’t believe my good fortune!

This is a testament to vigilance. As I understand it, these guys can get together, have a party, mate? Eat like little piggies? I don’t know how long it would have taken, but it seems like they could have decimated my cigars given a month or so unchecked…

Oh well, on the porch now with an aged PAM torpedo, counting my blessings.

They might also have come from the foot of the cigar leaving a nicely bored hole. They don't always exit through the wrapper.

Wishing you the best on the recovery and I'm sure all will be just fine. Patience is the key now so as not to rush anything.

Methinks one protests to much ...

If they are if fact tobacco beetles, they hatch from the cigars ... and will leave a hole when they leave.

Methinks you 'may' have caught them in the act ... but, keep in mind they are no bigger than a 'pin head' ...

If, indeed, what you saw, were really tobacco beetles ... they would have left their mark ... and the damage would be done.

You see ... it's not the beetles that do the damage, but the larvae that eat your cigars.

Slim, 850 cigars, 2 beetles, you do the math 🙂

Hi
My thoughts are with you .I lost almost a whole box of Zinos and Free Cubas due to those buggers.Please let me know if everything turns out ok,
Q
[email protected]

I've had a simalar experience Robby. You and your cigars will survive, just don't hurry the "defrosting period". I found 1 beetle and when inspecting each cigar I only found one with a hole and an additional beetle. I freeze almost everything these days. Trying to keep anything in Texas at 70 deg. would be outragiously expensive on the electricity bill.

Ever read a review that mentions the cigar tasted like roasted meat!? Makes you wonder.

Barry