Quote:
Originally Posted by goalie204
most of the guys i know swear by it. I've never done it. I'm also fairly sure i've read somewhere about those who did the freezing and STILL had beetles, so whatever.
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Freezing cigars in a home refrigerator-freezer will not kill the eggs of tobacco beetles. I've read numerous books and articles over the last decade on this and the one constant from every authority is the freezer MUST be set 10 degrees below ZERO (Fahrenheit)! ! ! . . . and that's a DEEP freeze! Putting your cigars in the household 'frig-freezer' next to the ice-cream will only tend to dry them if not sealed tight in a vapor proof bag.
Keep in mind: All tobacco has eggs from the tobacco beetle. Most (reputable) cigar manufactures treat or freeze their cigars to eliminate this pest from their products.
Why? Why won't a freezer set around 30-degrees kill the beetles??? After reading more about the
Lacioderma (aka tobacco beetle) you will soon discover Mother Nature designed the egg of this pest to withstand freezing! Freezing at 25 to 30 degrees will kill a hatched larva (aka worms) and/or a developed live beetle. . . it's the un-hatched eggs that are not affected. The DEEP freeze must be kept for at least 72 hours to crack them little (really tiny) eggs. . . and that's what kills! Crack the eggs. . . no hatching!
Your typical home refrigerator-freezer will not go below 15 or 20 degrees (above Zero!) even if you set it on the lowest setting. You'll need a "Deep Freeze" that can be set under a MINUS 10-degrees. Just imagine how hard your ice-cream would be if you set it at ZERO!!!
This sub-Zero aspect is HUGE when it comes to the discussion of freezing cigars. Any questions? ? ?