Tobacco Beetles

[Jtravis]

Pretty pissed off to find tobacco beetles crawling through my binder today. Threw it all out, as well as a small handful of cigars I had already been letting rest for a while.

 

[bonehead]

tobacco beetles will probably happen once in a while. they sell traps for them or you can freeze them. if you catch them quick they wont do much damage.

 

[Jtravis]

Thanks but I found multiple leaves they had eaten through and I assume that means multiple leaves that have crapped on

 

[TravisNTexas]

I don't know if it is common or even a good idea, but I put both of my blend packs in the freezer for 3 or 4 days when the arrived like I have heard others do with their cigars when they received them. I understand it is supposed to kill beetles, and may kill eggs that have not hatched too. Just seemed like a good idea, and I don't believe it hurts the tobacco leaves in any way that I can detect.

 

[MarcL]

Beetle larvae cannot be eradicated. What they need to hatch are 2 things. Heat and water.

 

[Knucklehead]

Cigarette Beetle, University of Florida: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/stored/cigarette_beetle.htm

Tobacco Beetle, Cigars International: http://www.cigarsinternational.com/cigar-101/article/25/tobacco-beetles

 

[Jtravis]

The way I was storing it was kind of stupid and not very tight. Should I just buy some big airtight Tupperware?

 

[deluxestogie]

I don't generally pre-treat my tobacco for tobacco beetles. Occasionally they happen, as bonehead points out. When I do find them, I seal the bag well, then either leave it in a hot car (in the summer) for several days, or put it in the freezer for several days. You can do the same for cigars.

Tobacco beetle poop just looks like dust in the bottom of the bag. It doesn't smell like anything, and is usually not discernible on the leaves themselves. I would just ignore that issue. Leaves with holes often make entirely workable binder, so long as the wrapper has no holes. The most important aspect of the tobacco beetle problem is their ability to spread to more batches of tobacco. By keeping all your leaf in sealed bags, you minimize the risk.

Cigars with holes probably won't smoke, because of the air leak. Just bring them into case (after freezing in a sealed bag), then break them down to re-use the filler.

Bob

 

[Raodwarior]

+1 to Bob , as usual. I take the leaves outside and shake them out, then precede to roll. I had a major beetle problem with my last batch of wrapper, its one of the things we get to deal with. After a while you will be good enough to still get a wrapper out of a leaf with beetle holes in it, I'm batting about 90% and then if needed as Bob said use it for binder. Unless you have major mold or mildew NEVER IMO throw out leaf.

 

[LewZephyr]

I pretty much freeze any and all cigars or whole leaf tobacco I receive. The moment I open the box, they go direct. With cigars I pack them in a freezer ziploc, and of course with the whole leaf, I leave em in the wonderful packaging Don uses.
I've never had an issue with beetles.

 

[TravisNTexas]

Cigarette Beetle, University of Florida: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/stored/cigarette_beetle.htm

Tobacco Beetle, Cigars International: http://www.cigarsinternational.com/cigar-101/article/25/tobacco-beetles

Thanks for the links. Both articles say that freezing (4-10 days at 32F) eliminate all stages of the beetle. If I remember from other reading on this site there is some disagreement about that though. Regardless, I am going to keep freezing my cigars and tobacco just to be on the safe(er) side!

 

[Knucklehead]

Thanks for the links. Both articles say that freezing (4-10 days at 32F) eliminate all stages of the beetle. If I remember from other reading on this site there is some disagreement about that though. Regardless, I am going to keep freezing my cigars and tobacco just to be on the safe(er) side!

These were just a sample. I got tired of wading through pest control articles recommending poisons. Some also recommended going from the freezer to the refrigerator to avoid quick thawing, which could damage the wrapper.