few questions about cigar beetles

I was sorting out the cigars I will be taking on a trip with my on Tuesday, when I picked up a few cigars that were from the same box, all in cello luckily, and noticed little holes and blackish powder all inside... I instantly went into red alert

EVERYTHING except what's getting burned within 2 weeks (what I'm taking on the trip in other words) went into double bagged gallon sized ziplocks and got put into the fridge so I can get them in the freezer tomorrow.

My questions are
Can beetles still do damage if they even got a change to get around while the cigars are doing the initial cool down in the fridge?
Will the sticks I'm taking with me be fine?
Can beetles hide in the humidor (aka cooler with boxes in it)?
If so, should I freeze the boxes that are in the humidor?
Can leaving cigars in the freezer for 16 days total cause any damage?

Thanks

[smelvis]

Man I will leave this for more experienced and guess.

You did everything right in my opinion, I don't think they can do damage while getting cold and I don't think 16 day's will hurt them.

Just guessing I am sure someone with experience with beetles will chime in, have a good trip.

Thanks man every little bit helps!

[T.G]

Originally Posted by gijoey959

My questions are
Can beetles still do damage if they even got a change to get around while the cigars are doing the initial cool down in the fridge?
Will the sticks I'm taking with me be fine?
Can beetles hide in the humidor (aka cooler with boxes in it)?
If so, should I freeze the boxes that are in the humidor?
Can leaving cigars in the freezer for 16 days total cause any damage?

Thanks

"Can beetles still do damage if they even got a change to get around while the cigars are doing the initial cool down in the fridge?" Some, how much is open to debate, but ultimately, but they can't breed at refrigerator temps - so even if they do damage, the lifecycle grinds to a halt. FWIW, the refrigerator step is not really necessary, you can go straight to the freezer with the cigars. Think about it, they take cigars from ambient to -30 in minutes with the typical blast freezer that is used for beetle control by many manufacturers and some vendors and it doesn't hurt the cigars, your slow pulldown home freezer won't hurt anything taking hours to go from ambient to 0.

"Will the sticks I'm taking with me be fine?" Meh. Maybe. Depends how extreme the infestation is. The cigars you're taking might not even be infested. It's unlikely though that you have anything to worry about.

"Can beetles hide in the humidor (aka cooler with boxes in it)?" Sure they can. Just yell "olly-olly-oxen-freeeeee" and see how many come running out from their hiding spots.

"If so, should I freeze the boxes that are in the humidor?" I freeze whole boxes. Tobacco beetles will eat just about anything except glass, plastic, cedar, rubber and metal. Things like paper, certain foodstufs, some woods,,, etc - yeah, all that is fair game to them.

"Can leaving cigars in the freezer for 16 days total cause any damage?". Nope - I sometimes leave cigars in the freezer for two weeks or so. Doesn't hurt them one bit;.

[Bunker]

I'm with TG, I see no reason for the fridge before or after freezing. Loose stuff gets double bagged (fiver finger bag inside a freezer bag) Boxes go in as soon as they come out of the shipping box.

Some have this whole routine down with set amounts of time, whatever makes you feel better. Loose cigars get a day, boxes maybe two then they go right in the cooler to acclimate before the humi.

You can (and I have) taken a cigar from the freezer and smoked it right away.

[mosesbotbol]

It takes a long time for cigars to become humid like they were - several weeks.

Do you know how to play flute? Similar technique with fingers to cover the beetle holes for compression...

[smelvis]

I knew better answers would come, I also go straight to freezer so I thought that's what you meant they would be stoped pretty fast there.

Glad you got the right answers. sorry I freeze but have never had beetles yet hopefully never will.

[nick2021]

sorry to hear about the beetles, I now have a 100% freeze policy as well due to the same thing you went through, hopefully it all works itself out!

Alright, I'll have to remember to skip the fridge when I get back I've smoked stuff straight out of the freezer as well when I first started cigars, and it was fine. I guess I have just figured it would be fine the past few months and have been skipping the freezer

[bobarian]

Originally Posted by Bunker

Some have this whole routine down with set amounts of time, whatever makes you feel better. Loose cigars get a day, boxes maybe two then they go right in the cooler to acclimate before the humi.

You can (and I have) taken a cigar from the freezer and smoked it right away.

One day is not long enough in the freezer unless you are using a commercial or a blast freezer. At least 48 hours, 72 or longer is better. It will take that long to crack any eggs. Larvae may die in 24-36 hours but the eggs will take longer.

Time in the freezer is not an issue, its 2 weeks no matter what cause I'm gonna be gone but they are all in the freezer as of 11 this morning, only time will tell if the ones I left out will be fine

[Ranger_B]

Sounds like you got it all covered. Sorry to hear about the dreaded infestation. I can normaly find some great info here: http://www.tobacconistuniversity.org...cco-beetle.asp Again like said by most here you can skip the fridge part. Hope it all works out.

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by gijoey959

I was sorting out the cigars I will be taking on a trip with my on Tuesday, when I picked up a few cigars that were from the same box, all in cello luckily, and noticed little holes and blackish powder all inside... I instantly went into red alert

fyi - beetles will chew thru cello. It doesn't slow 'em down much.

[Chainsaw13]

Originally Posted by pnoon

fyi - beetles will chew thru cello. It doesn't slow 'em down much.

Yep, I can attest to that. Had a beetle outbreak many years ago. Like the others have posted, everything I get goes into the freezer for a min of 4 days, then into the fridge for a day, then humi to reacclimate.

[nick2021]

Originally Posted by bobarian

One day is not long enough in the freezer unless you are using a commercial or a blast freezer. At least 48 hours, 72 or longer is better. It will take that long to crack any eggs. Larvae may die in 24-36 hours but the eggs will take longer.

72 hours is what I do

[Stinky]

I've done considerable research on this topic. The advice above is quite good. You get an "A" Adam!

One aspect to keep in mind about freezing to kill Lacioderma (aka Tobacco Beatles):

Crank your home FREEZER down to the coldest setting! ! ! Normal (typical) home freezers are set around 10+ to 15+ degrees above Zero. Research the subject and you'll find the necessary temperature to "crack the eggs" is "minus 10 Degrees" or colder for 72-hours.

Also:
I agree with the process of placing the cigars right into the freezer after sealing the baggie. 72-hour min freezer time. Then, a day in the 40+/- refrigerator is customary. 24 hours at room temperature and they're ready to smoke. The freezing process (when done right) does NOT take the humidity out! This is NOT about humidity. . . just temp.

Is it ok to go colder? YES.

Is it ok to deep-freeze longer? Yes. . . not necessary, but no problem if you sealed the cigars inside a zip-lock bag and sucked all the air out. Well, suck as much as you can. Use a straw.