cigar beetle question

[thechasm442]

ughh, I had hoped I never had to ask about the dreaded cigar beetle, but today I found them. My question is, how did they get there? Here's the situation. I've had my entire stash in a coolidor and inside separate cigar boxes for 2.5 years now. During that time, the temperature has not fluctuated above or below 67-70 degrees fahrenheit and the rh has always been a steady 65%. I also test and re-calibrate both of my hygrometers once a month. The beetles were discovered on 2 gran habano 2002's, which have been in the cooler since march of 2014. No other cigar has been effected. I have taken the necessary quarantine precautions since the discovery but that really doesn't answer the mystery of how this happened. Even more strange, 4 days ago I pulled cigars from the same box, and there were no beetles present on said infected sticks.

So I guess my question is, how would a beetle hatch on 2 sticks in a completely controlled environment, when they have already been resting in the environment for 18 months?

Thanks for any input. The plus side is, at least it was a couple of cheap smokes that got wasted and not the good stuff.

[bluenoser]

No answer to your question but glad you found them with minimal damage. I've hear horror stories of massive losses.

[johnnyflake]

ughh, I had hoped I never had to ask about the dreaded cigar beetle, but today I found them. My question is, how did they get there? Here's the situation. I've had my entire stash in a coolidor and inside separate cigar boxes for 2.5 years now. During that time, the temperature has not fluctuated above or below 67-70 degrees fahrenheit and the rh has always been a steady 65%. I also test and re-calibrate both of my hygrometers once a month. The beetles were discovered on 2 gran habano 2002's, which have been in the cooler since march of 2014. No other cigar has been effected. I have taken the necessary quarantine precautions since the discovery but that really doesn't answer the mystery of how this happened. Even more strange, 4 days ago I pulled cigars from the same box, and there were no beetles present on said infected sticks.

So I guess my question is, how would a beetle hatch on 2 sticks in a completely controlled environment, when they have already been resting in the environment for 18 months?

Thanks for any input. The plus side is, at least it was a couple of cheap smokes that got wasted and not the good stuff.

You do not state if the beetles were alive or not. You say they were found ON the cigars. Were there any holes in the cigars they were on? Hold the cigars over a piece of paper, up right with the foot at the bottom and tap the cigars vigorously on the paper. If lots of dust comes out, onto the paper, they are/were alive and did penetrate the cigar and carved it up. If you do not see holes and no dust comes out, of the cigars, they probably were not penetrated. If they were not alive and did not penetrate the cigars, it may just be a fluke and they were dead and present when you got the cigars. If they were alive, you will have a bigger problem than you may think and it's hard to determine where they came from!

If they were alive and did penetrate any of your cigars, freezing everything is the only way to protect what you have from further out breaks and damage!

[jp1979]

ughh, I had hoped I never had to ask about the dreaded cigar beetle, but today I found them. My question is, how did they get there? Here's the situation. I've had my entire stash in a coolidor and inside separate cigar boxes for 2.5 years now. During that time, the temperature has not fluctuated above or below 67-70 degrees fahrenheit and the rh has always been a steady 65%. I also test and re-calibrate both of my hygrometers once a month. The beetles were discovered on 2 gran habano 2002's, which have been in the cooler since march of 2014. No other cigar has been effected. I have taken the necessary quarantine precautions since the discovery but that really doesn't answer the mystery of how this happened. Even more strange, 4 days ago I pulled cigars from the same box, and there were no beetles present on said infected sticks.

So I guess my question is, how would a beetle hatch on 2 sticks in a completely controlled environment, when they have already been resting in the environment for 18 months?

Thanks for any input. The plus side is, at least it was a couple of cheap smokes that got wasted and not the good stuff.

no bueno

[thechasm442]

You do not state if the beetles were alive or not. You say they were found ON the cigars. Were there any holes in the cigars they were on? Hold the cigars over a piece of paper, up right with the foot at the bottom and tap the cigars vigorously on the paper. If lots of dust comes out, onto the paper, they are/were alive and did penetrate the cigar and carved it up. If you do not see holes and no dust comes out, of the cigars, they probably were not penetrated. If they were not alive and did not penetrate the cigars, it may just be a fluke and they were dead and present when you got the cigars. If they were alive, you will have a bigger problem than you may think and it's hard to determine where they came from!

If they were alive and did penetrate any of your cigars, freezing everything is the only way to protect what you have from further out breaks and damage!

I did not see actual evidence of beetles, however the worst affected cigar had lots of brown powdery substance in the wrapper, as well as a few holes. Just 4 days prior, none of this was visible.

[thechasm442]

I am currently bagging and refrigerating everything i have and will transition to the freezer. I just dont understand how this happened now when i have maintained the same conditions for 2.5 years.

[jp1979]

I am currently bagging and refrigerating everything i have and will transition to the freezer. I just dont understand how this happened now when i have maintained the same conditions for 2.5 years.

Was there a spike when you moved???

[thechasm442]

Was there a spike when you moved???

The temp and rh spiked 2-3 degrees for about 8 hours but that was it. When this is all said and done I might just switch to beads. I have roughly 30 boveda 60rh packs in there now and it's always been fine.

[jp1979]

The temp and rh spiked 2-3 degrees for about 8 hours but that was it. When this is all said and done I might just switch to beads. I have roughly 30 boveda 60rh packs in there now and it's always been fine.

30 bovedas? holy crap... tough to say why or how it happened I guess... I have gotten really lax with freezing but these types of situations make me get back on it everytime.... glad it was only 2 sticks....

[Old Smokey]

I am glad you found them early with little damage. I go through my cigars about every few months or so when I recharge the beads and look everything over looking for any damage or concerns. So far all is well but I am going to go through the routine tomorrow for peace of mind plus it's time to recharge the beads. Takes me about an hour.

The majority of my cigars have not had the freezer treatment except for the usual subjects and this years LC-15s.