Re: ever had a beetle infestation ???
I was a bit hasty in some of my numbers as I didn't really think heating cigars would be interesting but in retrospect it is certainly discussion,worthy. So the paper states 50 degrees C (122 deg F) for 12 hours kills all tobacco beetle eggs. This test was confirmed in both plastic and glass dishes in both an oven and an environmental chamber.
I am assuming the environmental chamber is calibrated and has a circulatory fan so is probably more accurate.
I would agree that many cigars are stored or shipped at these temperatures but I also submit that beetle hatching is not very common and most people never experience the horror of well fed beetles living on premium cigars. I guess in general it seems simpler to bake cigars at 122 in a plastic Tupperware container with a damp sponge for 12 hours but I am not sure my home oven even goes that low and work might frown on me using our large environmental chamber to heat my cigars. I also submit that most people will go their whole lives smoking aged cigars and never see a beetle.
In the end I am just happy Universities consider tobacco preservation something worthy to study as so many schools are trying to figure out how to get rid of tobacco.
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