I was in the ploomidor tonight getting a smoke and as I looked through the glass top, I detected "movement" under the glass inside... I opened the lid and there he was... Ugly little ****. I squashed him and thought (in denial), how did that little bug get inside my humidor? I looked back down at the kleenex, my heart sank...

I started pulling gars out and inspecting them. No holes, but I have a lot of gars... Bottom line is, it's a half day in the office tomorrow, followed by a trip to the store for freezer bags.

I'm going to have to bag up all my babies, freeze the crap out of them for 3 days, then in to the fridge for a day to thaw, then room temp for a day, then back in the ploomidor...

If anyone has done this and has any tips or pointers, please post. I've heard about it, but never actually had to do it. $hit! $hit! $hit! $hit!

F-it! I just sent notification that I won't be in tomorrow! I'm going to get an early start on those ba$tards! How dare they attempt to feast on my collection! I've built it over the years, pampered it, loved it, I inspect in regularly, the audacity, the effrontery! They will die the horrible, cold, frigid death they deserve!!

Kill them bastards Robby. KILL!!!!

Does anyone have any ideas as to how this will affect the cigars? i.e., will it affect the flavor, burn, etc... if it's carried off correctly? What about the dry ice/gas um with CO2 technique? Better? Worse? Don't bother?

I know its been posted before. I dont remember exactly when, but I know its been a subject on these boards before. Try a search.

Sorry to hear this Robby...good luck.

Mag

Robby I put the word Beetle in the search box. This is just one I chose to read through...

http://www.cigarbid.com/auction/forum/forum.cfm?action=list&forumID=1&messageDisplay=0000000012143 

Try this one...there are other threads too.

Mag

Ya pull out the 44 and just start shooting. Hehehe. I just had too. Never been in this position. Good luck!!!If the temp is below 80, they don't hatch. That's all I know.

What has happened inside the now famous Ploomidor? As a brother of the leaf, this is a true tradgedy.

Let us know what happens. I hope the smokes you sent me dont have any unexpected visitors :>0...

My humis are kept at about 75 degrees, max, this time of year, so I hope I'm ok...

Mag

Mag

Good luck Robby,Gars are a major now investment I hope yours don't get messed up.Let us know what happens.

"WHAT MAKES THE GRASS GROW"

BUG BLOOD AND GUTS
BUG BLOOD AND GUTS

Bad news indeed! If it can happen in the ploomidor, it can happen anywhere!

The bottom of the cabinet is 70, the top is 71.5 there's approximately a 1.5 degree variation. It did get a bit moist but not above 73%. And as a I said, I inspect regularly and last night when I found the critter, I could not find any sticks with holes. So I'm at a loss as to where he came from... So freeze inside the boxes? or put the contents of a box in a bag? I was considering the latter.

Yes, freezing seems to work. You just have to be patient on the thaw and rest period. Too soon and the cigar is tight, hard to draw. Or if you have a frost free freezer, too dry. The treated cigars will need a week (or so) in the 'dor after the thaw, to get back to proper moisture content. Didn't seem to affect the flavor or arouma, after it rested for awhile. Just make sure they are zipped up tight in the baggie while in the freezer to minimize moisture.

I wonder if Freezer Bagsare in order to prevent sublimation.

Hey Rob, does that count as a "sick day" at work? I know if I found wildlife in my humi/ploomi, I would be sick to my stomach.

You positive it was a beetle? With all the space age technology in the ploomidor, I'm surprised that happened. Maybe a different kind of critter snuck in through a tiny opening in the case?

Best of luck. Go get 'em.

Those little Basta*ds!! Robby send me Your addy I have a few gars to keep You going Rob
gorob23
at
yahoo
dot
com

I'm reasonably certain it was a friggen beetle... And I really appreciate the offer gorob23, but I’m going to keep a few in a big otter box for the long cold treatment. Now is the winter of our discontent…

I got my freezer bags this afternoon. I’ll be bagging in a few. I’ll post pics. I figure I’ll have separate bags for brands or at least like cigars. Then stuff several in a larger back and pack it tightly…

I have a turkey injector I’m going to use to suck as much air out of the bags before sealing. I.e., roll the zip lock up to get as much air as possible, then seal up to the injector tube, and use the big syringe to suck the last little bit of air out and seal the zip lock.

Are you sure it wasn't one of the newer cigars you put in? He could have hatched in the mail or at the cigar shop and then hung out for a while before he burrowed out. Just a thought...

Are you sure its a tobacco beetle? If you're not sure what they look like, might want to check it out first before you freeze your 'gars. People have always told me freezing them will ruin them, causing such nasty things as wrapper cracking and an overall loss of taste. There's always the off chance it could be just a little bug that drifted in on your clothes one night after going outside.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=www.the-piedpiper.co.uk/graphics1/cigars.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.the-piedpiper.co.uk/th7m.htm&h=300&w=195&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtobacco%2Bbeetle%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DG 

Maybe this will help. Tobacco beetles look just like that first picture at the top of the page, except very, very tiny...I'd say no bigger than a quarter of an inch.