Expert: Bill Finck Jr. - 3/20/2010

Question
QUESTION: I do apologize for posting a question here about pipe tobacco but I don't know where else to turn for information.

I just bought two 1lb bags of pipe tobacco. One bag was a regular blend and the other was a natural blend. I was going to mix them both together at home to make my own blend. After I mix them together I have to hand grind/grate them in order for the tobacco to be used with my elect. rolling machine.  
Anyway....after I opened both bags up and mixed about 1/4 of each bag together, I then started to grate the mixture into a glass bowl.  I usually do this while I watch TV and so was not paying attention to the bags. Pretty soon my skin started to itch in various places and then my nose and eyes stated to burn some.  I thought...what the heck was going on!  I found that I had about 6 little tiny insects on my legs and arms! I looked into my glass bowl and saw more insects!  I then looked more closely at the bags of tobacco and was shocked to find that one of the tobacco bags was swarming with insects! ACK!
I zipped the bag shut and then used PKG tape as well just to make sure more don't get out! I have killed about 10 more of the lil suckers that are now on my coffee table,sofa and kitchen counter!!

I called the store to report my findings so they would not sell another infested bag like the brand I had bought. The sales person was getting ready to close for the night and seemed to be in a rush to leave.  I believe he said to just bring in the bag tomorrow. He is hard to understand as he has a thick Indian type accent.
Anyway.... I have wasted both bags of tobacco as I had already mixed part of them.  Is my house at risk for being infested?
Can you tell me how you would handle the situation if it happened to you.  This is just creepy. I'm sooo glad I didn't smoke them!
Thank you for any advise you can offer me.
Katnea
aka: Itchy for now ; )

ANSWER: Kathy,

Most likely, the bugs are Lasioderma serricorne, commonly known as the dreaded tobacco beetle. The bug is not an uncommon problem with tobacco products, and unfortunately tobacco beetles can 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.

Hopefully you killed the bugs that were loose in your house before they laid eggs. I suggest that you get the tobacco out of your house ASAP, or at least store it in the freezer. The larvae cannot hatch at temperatures below 65 Fahrenheit.

There are pheromone traps that attract the male bugs once the reach adult stage (the bugs go through 4 phases of life - egg, larva, pupa and adult). You could place one of these traps in the room where they got loose and see if you catch any. The traps only attract the males, so they won't eradicate the bugs, they'll just tell you if you have any adult bugs loose in the area.

Sorry to give you bad news. Hopefully you won't have an infestation problem - the chances are that you won't, depending on how many bugs actually got out and if you killed them all.

If you want a trap, we sell them on our site at www.finckcigarcompany.com  Just search "bug trap" and you'll see them - $9.95 each.

Hope this helps.
Bill

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

QUESTION: Dear Bill,

Thank-You sooo much for responding so quickly to my questions.^^

I COULD JUST KISS YOU! =D

Alas...I still have a few more questions if I may? I do hate the thought of being a"PEST"to you...(Ahem) However,I'm  still confused and need more advise. Also I would like to add that if you don't know the answer to my questions or choose not to answer the questions as listed below, could you please direct me as to where I may find the answers?

1) What is the responsibility of the tobacco shoppe that sold me the infested 'nightmare' bags of tobacco?
(IMHO...I do not feel that it is my responsibility to buy the special pheromone traps for my home)  

2)I own 2 tiny Chihuahuas so if I place the Pheromone traps around my house will the traps pose any kind of threat to my pets?

3)How many Pheromone traps should I set around my home?

4)Where should I place the traps?

5)If you were the shoppe owner...what steps would you take to protect your establishment against the possibility of mass beetle infestation?

6)Would you have your entire home sprayed just to make sure the possible infestation is aborted?

7)Should I call the company where the infested bag came from?
(I would think they would need to know ASAP)

8)Should I call the ATF bureau?

9)Should I order special designer HazMat suits for my Chihuahuas while my home if fumigated? j/k lol

10) Should I call Marvin Zindler at KTRK-TV to report my nightmare?
(Oh wait...Mr. Zindler passed away 3 years ago!) <grin>


11) Should I place a warning sign in my front yard saying: Enter at your own RISK? j/k

I had to add a lil humor to my questions(if only to make myself smile at this awful situation); )
 
Again I say Thank-You for all the help you have given me kind sir.

Sincerely,
Katnea

Answer
Kathy,

The tobacco shop should at the least refund your money for the tobacco, other than that I think you'll have a hard time getting anything out of hem.

I don't believe these tobacco bugs pose any threat to your dogs.

Just put 1 trap in the room where the bugs were released and see if you catch any. If there are many of them, you'll have to contact a pest control company and see if they can fumigate the house.

If my shop was infected, I'd fumigate. I am a licensed pesticide applicator and have the chemicals to do this, but the typical shop owner would have to try to find someone to do it for him.

If you contact the manufacturer of the product, they will probably replace the product for you, so you might want to let them know. Probably the tobacco was very old and hence hatched the bugs.

The ATF doesn't deal with stuff like this, so I think contacting them would be a waste of time.

Hope this helps.
Bill