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found a hole!

blackwell921@gmail.comblackwell921@gmail.com Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 22
in Cigar 101
Been a member here for awhile but don't post much because I usually don't have anything to add to the conversation. But today I need help. I found a hole in 1 cigar. Pretty sure it's a beetle hole from what I've seen and read. So my question is, do I need to freeze every cigar in my wineador? Or just the ones on that shelf and keep an eye on the others? For brand, let's just say it's a 'world famous, custom rolled'. So am I infested, or is it an isolated incident, with just one hole, in one cigar?
Thanks,
Jeremy
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Comments

  • RhamlinRhamlin Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 4,530
    Go thru all your sticks and check them carefully. Hopefully it's an isolated case. Or better yet its just a hole and nothing else. If you find any more remove them. And smoke em. If no holes don't worry about it but if it'll make you more at ease freeze them.
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  • Gray4linesGray4lines Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 3,439
    Like Ricky said, a single hole in just one cigar is not terribly concerning. It could just be a hole from damage and not even a beetle. I'd isolate that cigar in a baggie, outside of your humi and see if any bugs show up or if more holes appear. Check others carefully and remove any others with holes (if there are any).

    . Beetles will leave very round pinholes. If the hole isn't a perfect circle, it may not be beetle related. But always better safe than sorry.
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  • blackwell921@gmail.comblackwell921@gmail.com Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 22
    It was a round hole. About a sixteenth of an inch. Just tapped it on the table and dust fell out. I looked through everything and didn't see any bugs or any more holes. I took everything that was on that shelf and put them in the freezer. Checked temp and it's 70 degrees and 65 percent humidity. Tempted to cut that one apart and look in it. Thanks guys.
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  • Bob LukenBob Luken Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 3,664
    blackwell921@gmail.com:
    It was a round hole. About a sixteenth of an inch. Just tapped it on the table and dust fell out. I looked through everything and didn't see any bugs or any more holes. I took everything that was on that shelf and put them in the freezer. Checked temp and it's 70 degrees and 65 percent humidity. Tempted to cut that one apart and look in it. Thanks guys.
    Yes, do an autopsy. I had a problem with bugs a while back and I took a box cutter and sliced a few end to end and took them apart piece by piece and thought I'd found nothing but then from the pile of tobacco out walks a beetle. Do it on a tray or in a pan to contain everything. And put all the leftovers in a ziplock too just in case. The adults can fly. You don't want them flying up out of your garbage can like the flying monkeys from the Wizard of OZ. Good luck. Keep us posted.
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  • Gray4linesGray4lines Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 3,439
    Good advice Bob. Dust sure does sound like a beetle. If its not a super expensive stick I'd cut it open (for curiosity) smoke it if you're brave or trash it.
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  • Bob LukenBob Luken Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 3,664
    How good would a toasted larvae be? I don't care to find out.
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  • Gray4linesGray4lines Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 3,439
    Bob Luken:
    How good would a toasted larvae be? I don't care to find out.
    Lol, that's not what Andrew Zimmerman says
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  • Bob LukenBob Luken Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 3,664
    Gray4lines:
    Bob Luken:
    How good would a toasted larvae be? I don't care to find out.
    Lol, that's not what Andrew Zimmerman says
    LOL Yeah but his are sauteed nicely in butter or olive oil. In our case we'll be torching it alive and to a crisp and tasting/eating the whole gory vapor trail. Hell, I get pissed if I think I've scorched the foot. I sure don't wanna be any more pissed off than that when I'm supposed to be relaxing.
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  • blackwell921@gmail.comblackwell921@gmail.com Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 22
    Had them in the freezer for maybe an hour or two. Pulled that stick out and cut it open. The hole was about a quarter inch deep and... had a dead adult beetle in it. That was the only one I found in there. I thought they burrowed out not in? And would an hour in the freezer been enough to kill it?
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  • blackwell921@gmail.comblackwell921@gmail.com Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 22
    Scratch that, wasn't dead. Started moving after thawing a little bit! He's dead now though!
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  • Bob LukenBob Luken Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 3,664
    blackwell921@gmail.com:
    Had them in the freezer for maybe an hour or two. Pulled that stick out and cut it open. The hole was about a quarter inch deep and... had a dead adult beetle in it. That was the only one I found in there. I thought they burrowed out not in? And would an hour in the freezer been enough to kill it?
    NO! She's likely to get up and walk as soon as she warms up. If the eggs are on the tobacco before it's rolled they can burrow out from there. They burrow out after becoming adult and can burrow back in to lay eggs. AND if she burrowed in she had to have come from somewhere else, either before you got that cigar and didn't notice it as you put it in your winador, or even worse, she came from another stick inside your wineador. They can live at 70 degrees and 65% RH. but their life cycle will be slower than it would be at higher temps.
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  • onestrangeoneonestrangeone Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 1,423
    Major Bummer.
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  • Bob LukenBob Luken Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 3,664
    I found a very good thread on another forum you should read ASAP. I'll send you an excerpt and a link. Check your inbox.
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  • blackwell921@gmail.comblackwell921@gmail.com Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 22
    Can't find anything wrong with any other sticks. It's possible I didn't see the hole when I put it in. So maybe she burrowed in there before I got it. There was no dust on the shelf, but there was more dust in the cigar. I'll keep a close eye on my other sticks, and inspect new sticks a lot closer! Guess I shot my chance of ever getting a trade on here. Lol
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  • Bob LukenBob Luken Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 3,664
    blackwell921@gmail.com:
    Can't find anything wrong with any other sticks. It's possible I didn't see the hole when I put it in. So maybe she burrowed in there before I got it. There was no dust on the shelf, but there was more dust in the cigar. I'll keep a close eye on my other sticks, and inspect new sticks a lot closer! Guess I shot my chance of ever getting a trade on here. Lol
    I asked a million questions of everybody here when I had my beetle problem and it didn't stop them from trading with me. These things happen. It happened to me rather early in my time in the hobby so I feel like I know hard times more than some others who've been at this for years or decades and never had beetles. I have a beetle policy in place now. They (New sticks) either get the freeze treatment or they are kept in one of two desktops that contain new sticks from trades/bombs that I think I'll smoke soon, and older stock that I never froze. If I put anything in either of my coolers or other desktops, they get the freeze treatment.
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  • Bob LukenBob Luken Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 3,664
    I even got a outdoor thermometer to be certain I was getting the freezer as cold as it needed to be. And I keep them in there for 48 hours.
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  • blackwell921@gmail.comblackwell921@gmail.com Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 22
    I really appreciate all the help/advice, and the thread. Read though ten pages, have to read the rest later. I forsee a strict freeze policy in my future!
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  • kaspera79kaspera79 Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 7,144
    Today I fired up an Opus X Perfecxion #4, and under the label was a hole I felt certain was a beetle hole. Not to mention moldy fuzz under the cedar sleeve. Checked the humidor and there was no signs of a problem. I'm not too concerned, but I will keep an eye on my sticks for a while. By the way, I smoked it and enjoyed the hell out of it.
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  • RhamlinRhamlin Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 4,530
    Sounds like you caught it in time. Definitely give any sticks in that humi the freezer treatment for a few days. And keep a lose eye on them. Those little buggers are the main thing I worry about since I'm gone for a month at a time. My wife isn't going to look thru my sticks for me.
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