Tobacco beetle
From Stogiepedia
Tobacco beetles (Lasioderma serricorne, Cigarette Beetles) is around 2-3 mm long, and light brown in colour. The beetles, which can fly, live 2-6 weeks and do not feed during their life. As indicated by its common name, the tobacco beetle is a pest of tobacco, both in the refined cigarette packet presentation and also as stored in hogsheads and bales, but is also a minor pest of oilcake, oilseeds, cereals, dried fruit, sage, flour, and some animal products.
The female beetle lays around 100 eggs loosely on the commodity. The hatching larvae are the "grow bag" stage of the insect are active and will move around on and bore into the product, feeding as they go. The complete life cycle takes 26 days at 37°C and 120 days at 20°C. Tobacco beetles do not do well in the cold, adults die within 6 days at 4°C, and eggs survive 5 days at 0-5°C.
[edit] Tobacco Beetles and Cigars
Tobacco beetle eggs are present in almost all tobacco. They are impossible to detect with the human eye and won't cause any problems if the cigars are stored properly. Cigars are meant to be stored in 15-20°C (60-70°F) temperatures. The beetle eggs generally do not hatch unless cigars are prolonged to long periods of temperatures above this range. Humidors should be checked regularly to avoid any major outbreaks of beetles.
The first visible indication of tobacco beetles will be small pinhole-sized holes in the wrapper of cigars. Beetles will also eat through paper, so the holes could appear on the cigar bands. If a hole is found, try taking the cigar and gently tapping it near the head. If tobacco falls out of the cigar, it is a likely indicator of a beetle problem. Tobacco beetles will spread quickly through a humidor or cigar box, and if left unattended for long, they can literally turn the cigars to dust.
[edit] How to deal with a beetle infestation
When dealing with tobacco beetles, the policy is always "better safe than sorry." If any signs of beetles are detected, immediate action should be taken.
The best method for dealing with beetles is freezing the infected cigars. To do this, simply put the suspected cigars in a seal-able bag and then put that bag into another freezer-friendly seal-able bag. Make sure everything is sealed tight and place the cigars in a freezer for 24-48 hours. Tobacco beetles cannot live for long in this environment, and if the cigars are not exposed to overly-high temperatures again, the problem will not return.
Some people freeze any cigars they acquire for a day before adding them into their humidor in order to avoid any possibility of a beetle outbreak.
