Expert: James Yee - 1/7/2009

Question
QUESTION:
Beetles; what action to take.
Guess what I found...one live beetle in a large desktop humidor and two cigars with holes. And my other humidor I just found two dead beetles and only one cigar with a hole.

I have the cigars in triple heavy duty ziplocks in the freezer. Now what? This is new to me.
Thanks, Tom



ANSWER: Hi Tom,

Good work, just keep the cigars in your freezer for 48 hours.  This will kill any tobacco beetles that have hatched but are still inside your cigars.  After 48 hours, return your cigars to your humidor but be sure to monitor them closely for the next few days.  Any cigars with tobacco beetle holes should be discarded as they are now full of holes.  Hatched tobacco beetles will also leave behind a fine powder in your humidor and on your cigars and this is a combination of chewed-up tobacco and beetle feces so be sure to vacuum your humidor before you return your cigars to it.

To prevent future tobacco beetle outbreaks, your humidor temperature should not be higher than 74 degrees Fahrenheit.  When your cigars are exposed to temperatures this high (75 degrees or greater), any tobacco beetle eggs potentially hiding inside your cigars will incubate and hatch.  It's ideal to keep your humidor's temperature around 70 degrees.  To do this, keep your humidor in the coolest room possible in your home or you may need to store your humidor in a room with air-conditioning or an electric fan.  Basements and wine cellars are also ideal for storing humidors.

Hopes this answers your question.  As always, if you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Let me understand...it is the temperature, not the humidity/moisture level that is more critical to hatching these guys. In July/August here (Chicago), my house rarely, if at any time, gets above 74 degrees. But on an occasion or two I have checked and the humidity is running 74-75%....no more, but right there. I make adjustments, but thats it. Then it might pop back up to 74% again, but not often or for long. I do check these humidors regularly.
What would be your comments to this.
And again, thanks.
Tom


ANSWER: Hi Tom,

Yes, high humidity (75% humidity or higher) will lead to mold growth while high temperatures (75 degrees F or higher) will lead to tobacco beetles.  Tobacco beetle eggs - like any other type of living egg - requires just the right temperature to incubate them and cause the beetles to hatch.  These eggs are sometimes left on tobacco leaves (accidentally) as they're rolled into cigars.  These eggs however, remain harmless and dormant until the temperature is hot enough to incubate them.  Because of this, it's important to keep your humidor away from high temperatures.  

As for storing your humidor in your home, it's understandable that the temperature can be close to 75 degrees in the summer (I have the same problem living in Toronto, Canada) so when this happens, try to relocate your humidor to the coolest room possible in your home.  74-75 degrees Fahrenheit is at the end of the temperature safe zone so try to aim for a more ideal temperature such as 70-73 degrees Fahrenheit.

Regards,
James

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: So there are larva in all cigars? Nothing harmful, but in all cigars. Then, if it hits 75-76 degrees some can hatch and others won't. Then the temp goes down and they don't hatch. Then it goes back to 75 degrees. Can others hatch then? Is that the cycle? Or, is freezing once killing all larva in any one cigar?
Do you see my thinking here?
Thanks.

Answer
Hi Tom,

No, not all cigars are guaranteed to have tobacco beetle eggs inside them.  In fact, most cigars don't have eggs but with premium hand-rolled cigars, a cigar roller may accidentally miss a tobacco beetle egg that's been left on a tobacco leaf and will unknowingly roll that leaf into the cigar.  (On an interesting side note, have you ever smoked a cigar and heard a distinct "pop" during smoking?  That's actually a tobacco beetle egg combusting from the heat of the cigar.)

As for treating the cigars, freezing will kill all beetles that have hatched (but remain in the cigar) and eggs that begun the incubation process.  Eggs that have not been initiated by the high temperature yet can still remain dormant but can also be killed off by the sub-zero temperatures.  In either case, freezing your cigars will stop the tobacco beetle outbreak immediately and this is why it's recommended that you freeze (and not refrigerate) cigars for at least 48 hours to ensure that all the beetles and eggs are killed.

Regards,
James