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It eats like a pig, breeds like a bunny, lives fast and dies young. It worships tobacco and heat. It's cosmopolitan. It's Lasioderma serricorne, better known as the tobacco beetle, and it loves nothing more than to hatch in your humidor and feast on your cigars.
No bigger than a pinhead, the tobacco beetle makes cigar lovers around the world tremble. One generation of its offspring can take a sizable bite out of a manufacturer's tobacco inventory. Or damage a retailer's reputation. Or even invade your humidor at home. But don't panic if, next time you reach for a smoke, you notice a nasty little hole in the wrapper where a beetle tunneled in or out. While Lasioderma serricorne are a fact of life for manufacturers, retailers and consumers alike, they can be controlled.
"Once you see them, that usually means the damage has been done," says Gayle Ridge-O'Connor, an entomology assistant at the New Haven-based Connecticut Agricultural Experimental Station, which has been studying the behavioral patterns of insects for more than 125 years. "But you can kill them and prevent them from coming back."
We'll get to that. First, some lessons. To paraphrase Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese general and philosopher of war, you can't defeat an enemy you don't understand.
Biology of the Beetle
Known by entomologists as "cosmopolitan" insects, tobacco beetles are found all over the world, but only in environments where the temperature exceeds 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Adult beetles measure about two to three millimeters long. They have wings and can fly, but live only for an average of two to four weeks. Brownish-red, they have serrated antennae for touching and smelling; these antennae steer them toward the warm habitats where they nest and breed.
Like many other beetles and insects in general, tobacco beetles have a four-stage life cycle--egg, larva, pupa and adult--that lasts about 10 to 12 weeks. The female adult can chew its way through paper or tobacco leaf, and finds in cigars a suitably warm environment to lay its eggs, small white ovals that are too small for the human eye to detect. The eggs, up to 100 per birth cycle, hatch within six to 10 days, giving birth to the larvae. The larvae present the most danger to tobacco.
"The larvae are what eat the tobacco," says Ridge-O'Connor. "They need tobacco or other foods stored in a suitable temperature to grow into the pupa and adult stage."
White, soft and prickly, larvae can be up to four millimeters long. The larval stage is the beetle's longest phase of life, averaging six to 10 weeks. It's followed by a one- to two-week pupal stage, during which a protective cocoon grows around the insect. Finally, more than two months after the eggs have been laid, the tobacco beetle emerges from its cocoon for its brief life as a fully formed adult.
One common myth regarding tobacco beetles is that they live solely off tobacco. Not true. They're equally attracted to other plants and food products stored within their desired temperature range (65 degrees Fahrenheit and warmer). Tobacco beetles infest stored products, both edible and inedible, including spices (such as paprika and coriander), rice, dry pet food, seeds, pharmaceuticals, books, leather, coffee beans, furniture, upholstery, peanuts and yeast.
"You can't let up for one moment with this beetle," warns Benjamin Menendez, chief blender and director of Caribbean and Central American operations for Tabacalera Cigars International, makers of Vega Fina, Quintero and Saint Luis Rey cigars. "If you do, Lasioderma will get your tobacco."
Menendez, whose family founded Montecristo and also owned H. Upmann before the Cuban revolution, has cigar roots going back three generations. He regards the beetle with respect, and as a worthy adversary. From his early days as a child in his family's factory, Menendez remembers the first thing he was taught about keeping beetles away from cigars.
"The factory must be clean," says Menendez. "Not just clean, but spotless. You can't even have scraps of tobacco left in the corner. Or dust." Other manufacturers agree.
"All warehouses and factories must be as clean as possible," says George Gershel, senior vice president of tobacco for Consolidated Cigar. "That's the first and most important order of business with beetles. After cleanliness, we use serious traps, and fumigate at different stages."
Traps allow the manufacturer not only to kill bugs, but also to assess if a beetle problem is present and to estimate the number of beetle eggs that might have been laid. Menendez reports that for every beetle he finds in a trap, he figures that there are 100 eggs somewhere in his factory. Checking beetle traps has become a part of his daily routine. Consolidated also checks traps in its warehouses and factories at least once a day, Gershel says.
According to Alain Van Ryckeghem, technical director of Insects Limited, an insect control company, beetle traps can be placed on the floor or hung above it. The traps are set with a man-made chemical designed to duplicate the natural pheromone that attracts beetles to one another. The traps are also filled with an adhesive, so once the bugs are lured, they can be ensnared by the sticky surface.
"The trapping mechanism and lure work together," explains Van Ryckeghem. "You can catch a lot of insects with a trap, but you can't control the eggs already laid or the larvae feeding within the food source. Fumigants or freezing are most effective for that."
In a cigar warehouse or factory, fumigants intended to destroy pests are applied after the tobacco is aged and, often, just before the cigars are shipped. The most popular fumigant used in the cigar industry is Phostoxin, a chemical made of aluminum phosphide. When sprayed into a sealed and air-tight room, Phostoxin leaves no residue and kills beetles in all stages of life. On average, Phostoxin takes effect and evaporates within 72 hours of spraying. It leaves no harmful toxins or residue and has no effect on the taste of the tobacco or the health of the smoker.
Menendez traps and fumigates, but still relies heavily on freezing. "Chemicals get banned for all kinds of reasons," says Menendez. "Freezing is still the best because it's the most natural way to treat a cigar. People think freezing affects the taste, but look at what it does to meat or food. It preserves the flavor."
Van Ryckeghem also counts freezing as an effective way to kill beetles, but he stresses that each case is different. As a consultant called in to rid storage facilities from pests and insects, Van Ryckeghem inspects the infested environment and then interviews workers before he weighs the most effective solutions. "You have to look at the type of insect first," he says. "With tobacco beetles, often traps and fumigants and freezing are all necessary to best control the environment, whether it's infested or not."
"I've seen beetles make a bale of tobacco into a pile of dust and powder," notes Consolidated's Gershel. "You need to keep a close eye, you can't ever get careless, and you have to make sure the same goes for your supplier."
The battle between man and beetle doesn't stop after the rolled cigars leave the manufacturer. With walk-in humidors and storage facilities often set in excess of 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 70 percent relative humidity, tobacconists' humidors can serve as luxury hotels for beetles.
"We freeze everything that comes in from anyone who isn't a major manufacturer," says Lew Rothman, president and chief executive officer of retail and mail-order giant 800 JR-Cigar Inc. "If a manufacturer doesn't have the fumigation and freezing procedures of the major manufacturers like General, Consolidated, Swisher, Villazon, Fuente, then you have to be extra careful. These bugs can be devastating." Even with cigars from the large cigarmakers, Rothman said his policy is to spot-check at least one box per shipment.
In JR's new Burlington, North Carolina, warehouse and distribution center, Rothman installed a 40-by-60-foot freezer big enough for a tractor trailer. Purchased from a food products manufacturer, the freezer ensures that the millions of cigars that pass through JR's warehouse every month don't go out infested with beetles. "Freezing the cigars cracks the larvae and kills the eggs and the adults," says Rothman. "Before shipping the cigars we have to do all we can to avoid any problems. We've had no disasters yet."
Rothman advises tobacconists to be careful with large walk-in humidors, where beetles can live and prosper. Robert Frey, who co-owns seven cigar shops with his brother, Michael, has to be especially cautious. Six of their shops are in hot and arid Las Vegas, a climate in which beetles can thrive because of the constantly high heat.
"We keep a close watch over the cigars we get from the small boutique brands and cigars from hand-rolled shops," says Frey. "The bogus Cubans run high in beetles, so we watch our customer lockers because that's where a lot of the fakes end up."
Ever mindful of the possibility of infestation, the Frey brothers use lure and stick traps to catch any beetles trying to make a home in their stores' humidors. "The traps work great," says Robert Frey, adding that his employees check the traps at least once a day. "We will also freeze cigars if we notice an increase in the beetles we catch. And, of course, the humidors are cleaned out constantly." The Freys spot-check all open boxes inside their humidors at least once a week.
When consumers complain that cigars they just bought are infested with beetles, the answer from retailers is usually straightforward and simple--refunds are given or the cigars are exchanged.
"These worms are part of our business," says Mark Goldman, owner of House of Oxford, a cigar importer, and Mom's Cigars, a Manhattan cigar store. Goldman's policy is that any customer who isn't happy with their cigars--for whatever reason--a full refund is given. "I'd rather the customer curse me once for a bad cigar than 25 times for a box of cigars he doesn't like," said Goldman.
Frey has a similar return policy, but thinks consumer care can play a part in keeping beetles at bay. "Any cigars with beetles will be exchanged," he explains. "Complaints are taken care of quickly. But consumers need to be very careful to check newly purchased cigars before they put them in their humidor."
Once cigars have been brought home, consumers should inspect their humidors every few days, especially if they live in a hot or humid climate, or purchase cigars more than once a week.
If beetles are in a desktop humidor, it's hard not to tell. Look for bugs flying up when the humidor's top is opened, or for a pinhole-sized circle in your cigar. If you see a beetle, don't panic; the cigars are salvageable.
Even though manufacturers and retailers take precautions against beetles, it's not impossible for a few to sneak through into your cigars, or for you to pick up a few beetles that fly over from the kitchen cupboard or pet food container. In a recent poll taken on this site, 28 percent of respondents reported they had experienced a beetle infestation. Fortunately, 72 percent of those who had suffered an infestation were able to salvage their cigars. While horror stories of massive infestations in desktop humidors exist, most beetle problems in the home are moderate and manageable.
If you see signs of damage, take immediate action. Put all the cigars from an infected humidor in a zipped plastic bag and place them in your freezer for three days. If the cigars are still in their box, put the whole box into the freezer. Treat all of your cigars, because if you have one damaged cigar, you have to assume they're all at risk. Freezing infested cigars kills any beetles or eggs inside, preventing your beetle problem from spreading. Some experts even suggest freezing your cigars twice, to be doubly sure. "Freezing twice will ensure the beetles and their eggs have been killed," says Ridge-O'Connor. "It's the only foolproof way to get rid of them if you find them in your home."
After three days in the deep freeze, move the cigars into your refrigerator to avoid shocking the smokes from the temperature change, which could split their wrappers. In the meantime, wipe your empty humidor clean with a damp cloth. Don't use any type of cleaner or disinfectant--it will ruin the wood and leave an odor that will taint your cigars. After one day in the refrigerator, the cigars can be returned to the humidor. Include some strips of cedar to absorb the excess moisture being released.
Now it's time to address the problem that caused the beetles to hatch. Your humidor was probably too moist or too hot. Use a digital hygrometer thermometer to get an accurate reading, and consider whether the room that houses your humidor isn't subject to temperature extremes when you're not around. Make sure the box is not in direct sunlight, and check your humidification system. If you're using a homemade system, or have a cheap, ineffective product, invest in a high-quality device. Your cigars are worth it. At least, the beetles think so.
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