Tobacco beetle control or elimination

[jlmarta]

Hi, Guys,

Do any cigar smokers still log in to this forum? If so, I've got a question I hope someone can help me with regarding tobacco beetles.

Most of us have heard about keeping the temperature in our humi's below 71 degrees F. and a lot of us have heard the idea of putting newly received sticks in the freezer for a few days and then thawing them slowly for a few more days in the refrigerator. But, I haven't yet seen this notion addressed: Why couldn't newly received cigars be "nuked" in the microwave for a short period of time to kill off any living critters lurking within?

The microwave won't hurt paper towels or paper plates, what would be so different about a few cigars?

If there are still any cigar nuts out there, maybe someone could enlighten me in this matter. I'd like to know if anyone has tried it and what the results might have been. Did it hurt the stogies? Do you think the flavor or aroma was significantly changed? And if so, in what way?

Any help anyone might care to extend in this regard will be sincerely appreciated. Thanks very much,

Marty

 

[Muerte]

I would never nuke a cigar. In effect you are cooking it and that has to alter the taste(I could be wrong but logic states change in flavor). Do you have a basement?? if so put your humidor down there if you're worried about beetles from heat. I put my humi's in the basement every year. I don't do it from a fear of beetles but from the temp swings and humidity swings associated with opening and closing the windows/ turning on and off the AC.

I don't think that they are that much of a problem these days. I'm pretty sure manufacturers take some steps to combat the little guys. IMHO.

 

[Guest]

Freeze your humidor and the cigars overnight and do so with any new stogies you buy. Just one night is enough to kill the eggs. Put everything in a large freezer bag to prevent desication. One night won't desicate the cigars. Let them thaw out and before smoking.

 

[Barcochris]

Actually I do not believe that one night is long enough, specially in our home freezers. I would do it for a minimum of Three days. Then three days in the fridge, then slowly bring them back to the proper RH

 

[Steve M1911A1]

A recent article in The New Yorker spoke about an art restorer and conservator who was faced with an art work infested with tobacco beetles.
He put it into a plastic bag, and replaced the air in the bag with nitrogen.
Eventually, and without adversely affecting the artwork, all of the beetles, and their eggs and larvae, will die.

 

[jlmarta]

Ah, Northwestern Washington State - - what a beautiful place to live.

But, back to the point at hand. The nitrogen thing sounds like a good idea but can the average joe just walk in and buy some? And if so, where?

Marty

 

[Guest]

Most any company that sells bottled gas (i.e. oxygen, acetylene, helium, argon etc.) will carry bottled "Dry Nitrogen" It is used throughout the aerospace industry to displace oxygen and moisture.

You would need to lease the bottle. These range in size from the small bottles used to transport medical oxygen to an industrial sized oxygen bottle in the welding rig at a shipyard. You would need a regulator to reduce the pressure from the two thousand PSI inside the bottle to something reasonable. Seems like a very expensive approach unless you already have access to a source of nitrogen.

Alternative approach. Get some dry ice. Put your humidors in a five gallon paint bucket or plastic tub with a cover that seals reasonably tight but not air tight. Put the dry ice in on top. Place the cover on and snap it into place. Leave it sit for a week. The dry ice will sublimate into carbon dioxide gas. This cold gas will settle in the bottom of the bucket and displace the air forcing it out through gaps in the cover.

Make sure you treat the humidors as well as the cigars. Eggs could be laid in the humidor as well as on the cigars.

 

[jlmarta]

Wow! What great info. The dry ice thing certainly sounds workable. I may just give it a try - even though I don't have a problem with the little buggers at the moment (that I know of).

I could use my coolidor and put my desktop humi in it with all my sticks and give it a one-time shot as a preventive measure. Then, I could freeze any incoming sticks before ever putting 'em into my coolidor.

Thanks very much for the idea.

Marty

 

[Guest]

I could use my coolidor and put my desktop humi in it with all my sticks and give it a one-time shot as a preventive measure.

The coolidor would probably work better than the paint bucket. As long as the displaced oxygen has a way out. Leave the humidor cracked open so the oxygen can be displaced. Ammo-dors (Ammo cans lined with cedar) would be problematic since they seal up air tight.

 

[jlmarta]

Great. Thanks very much for the info...

Marty

 

[kuzi16]

Actually I do not believe that one night is long enough, specially in our home freezers. I would do it for a minimum of Three days. Then three days in the fridge, then slowly bring them back to the proper RH

i have access to a freezer that gets down to -15

i STILL leave em in there for 3 days.

 

[jlmarta]

Again, Kuzi, good info. As always, I appreciate your input.

Didn't know you were still monitoring this forum. It's been a while since I've seen any posts from any of the previous cadre... with a few exceptions. A couple of them still post occasionally.

Best regards,

Marty

 

[kuzi16]

i hit this forum now and then. i find that its slowed to a crawl since cigar.com split off on their own. it keeps the newer guys from coming around.

i have gone over a bit to the political side and the gun side. this is still a good forum but it just doesnt have the post turnover it used to.

 

[Dustinl]

Pests are harmful insects which are detrimental to the growth of plants. To have a healthy and prosperous organic garden, one must adopt various ways to eliminate these pests. However, using pesticides can defeat the whole purpose of organic gardening.

Even though you are spamming the hell out of us, I like you! Don't take offence that I am reporting your posts as spam.

BTW, I use Diamatasious Earth on my organic garden.


DL

 

[tonygraz]

I have a freezer in the garage and all the cigars go there for 48 hours before the humidors. Never had a beetle problem, but have had a couple of cigars with worm holes from CI and Thompson. Had some cigars arrive 3 days ago and I put one right in the high turnover humidor and smoked it yesterday. I can't remember doing that in many years.

 

[tonygraz]

spam twin ?

 

[phantom4570]

spam twin ?

I ran the gibberish through Google translate and got the below which leads me to believe the post is just a ploy to get people to click on the links. I suspect those links serve malware or trojans of some sort so be careful.

Happy weekend happy ones
Do not forget to share useful knowledge for curved slightly.
Thanks and successful

 

[tonygraz]

The dung was enough to dissuade me - I wouldn't think of running that thru the translator as they are not that easily cleaned.;-)