Thread: Holes In Cigars!!

Ok so i need you help

I was looking at my humidor today and i noticed that a few of my cigars have holes in them.

I looked this up on the net and noticed it was from a tobacco beetle.

It said to take the cigars with holes in them and place them in a tupperware in the freezer for a few days.

Has this happened to anyone before? Should i place all of my cigars in the tupperware and leave them for a few days or should it only be the ones that were discovered with holes in them?

Hope someone can shine some light on this issue i dont want everything i own to be ruined :S

Save the ones with out holes, the ones with holes will probably not draw correctly. Freeze them all to kill the bug(s).

ive separated all my cigar into individual ziploc bags. I want to keep them in my humidor a few more days to see if any others are affected...so far its only a few with holes and i have take them out already

I had that happen a few years ago from some bulk cigars. I removed all unwrapped cigars placed them in the freezer as well as the wrapped cigars. I also put the humidor in as well.

+1 on nun2sharp check them well as the smoke may not be as pleasant,
Hope you can save the smokes.

Just curious were the loose unwrapped? County?

the cigars are supposed to be cuban, but my friend who got them for me didnt know how to spot a fake so its a box of fake romeo y juliettas.

All my cigars were unwrapped in the humidor but i had some real romeo and cohibas in tubes.

the only cigars that had the hole sin them were the fake ones. i just threw out the holed ones right now.

since i put everything in ziploc bags already should i just throw everything humidor and all in the freezer?

This what I did, put all cigars in bags in the freezer and the humidor.
I took the humidor out first bring back to room temp and make sure it is "dry" and no visible moisture or swelling. Then I added my humidification and let it come to proper humidity and temp. Then I added the cigars after pulling them out, let them get to room temp as well out of the bags to prevent condensation.

thanks for the help..everything is in the freezer as we speak on the coldest settings lol.

The humidor i made sure to clean out with a damp cloth and it should be ok. now to play the waiting game..

Double zip lock the bags and use a straw to draw as much air as possible outof the bags. Let them sit in the refrigerator for one day and then into the freezer for 4 days. Then back into the fridge for 2 days and then back in the hum. Check your humi very careful for any signs of the critters. What you saw are exit holes where the adult leaves the cigar. At this point you are trying to
kill any eggs or larva that may exist. Entry is often made through the foot of a cigar so you have no way of knowing if the rest of your stash has beetles or not.
Better safe than sorry with you cigars. A good test for beetle presence is to take a cigar by the body and tap the foot lightly on a piece of white paper, any brown powder that may fall out is beetle shit!

Originally Posted by basil

the cigars are supposed to be cuban, but my friend who got them for me didnt know how to spot a fake so its a box of fake romeo y juliettas.

All my cigars were unwrapped in the humidor but i had some real romeo and cohibas in tubes.

the only cigars that had the hole sin them were the fake ones. i just threw out the holed ones right now.

since i put everything in ziploc bags already should i just throw everything humidor and all in the freezer?

I just today noticed 2 bugs in mine but I have no holes in any of my cigars. I just notice one of my cigars have possibly a hole or two at the foot which explains what you just said. I too just put them in the freezer and now looking how to make sure my humidor is free of them and any eggs or larva you can't see

Originally Posted by lz6

Double zip lock the bags and use a straw to draw as much air as possible outof the bags. Let them sit in the refrigerator for one day and then into the freezer for 4 days. Then back into the fridge for 2 days and then back in the hum. Check your humi very careful for any signs of the critters. What you saw are exit holes where the adult leaves the cigar. At this point you are trying to
kill any eggs or larva that may exist. Entry is often made through the foot of a cigar so you have no way of knowing if the rest of your stash has beetles or not.
Better safe than sorry with you cigars. A good test for beetle presence is to take a cigar by the body and tap the foot lightly on a piece of white paper, any brown powder that may fall out is beetle shit!

This article may have a more thorough procedure:

Cigars International - Cigar 101