AboutBill Finck Jr. Expertise I'm a fourth generation cigar maker and have spent 25+ years operating our factory as well as a mail order cigar company. I belong to cigar manufacturers associations as well as retail cigar associations so I'm usually up to date with current events relating to cigars. I've smoked the majority of brands on the market and would be happy to share my opinions of them with you. Since I live in the U.S. I have very little experience with Cuban cigars, but other than that I know a least a little bit about almost every brand of cigars on the market.
Experience In addition to growing up in and now managing our cigar factory for 25+ years, I've spent time in many factories in Honduras, Nicaragua, The Dominican Republic and Mexico. BR> Organizations Cigar Association of America, Retail Tobacco Dealers Association
Question I am in the middle of a freeze treatment on a huge stash of stogies right now. The sticks have been out of the humidor and in the freezer for 3 days, fridge for 1, and just started the last day at room temp. I just opened my empty humidor that was already wiped down and checked for visable beetles TO FIND A LIVE BETTLE WALKING AROUND. Should I try freezing my humidor? What can I do to make sure that I don't re-infest my smokes tomorrow when I put em back in?
Answer Aaron,
Sorry about the delayed response - I forgot to set my vacation days on this site and just got back.
While freezing is the most common and only real practical way for consumers to try to get rid of tobacco bugs, the truth is you probably don't have the equipment to do it properly. In order to kill the larvae that is inside the cigars, you need to freeze the cigars at 20 below 0 for a minimum of 5 days. Most residential freezers are set at 0 degrees, which is not cold enough to kill them. It will kill the hatched beetles though, so go ahead and freeze the humidor just to make sure.
You should consider putting a beetle trap in your humidor. These pheromone traps attract the male bugs and catch them on a sticky surface. It won't attract the females, but it will tell you right away of you have a problem before you have a major outbreak. If you are interested look at www.finckcigarcompany.com and search for safestore bug traps. They sell for $9.95 - a lot cheaper than losing several good cigars...
Sorry again about the delay in getting back to you.
