Bugs are Bad

I've read that the factories put their cigars in a vacuum vault to crush the beetle eggs in new cigars before they ship them out. Anybody know if this is true?

[T.G]

Originally Posted by craiggory

I've read that the factories put their cigars in a vacuum vault to crush the beetle eggs in new cigars before they ship them out. Anybody know if this is true?

I can't say for certain that such a system does not exist, or was not tried at some point in the past, but I've been to a number of factories and I've neither seen, nor heard of, any apparatus fitting that description.

I'm thinking that what they might have been talking about was the aforementioned blast freezing process where a freezer room is stacked, then brought down to extreme sub-zero temperatures very rapidly and held there for a few days. The eggs that aren't shattered by the rapid temperature drop and freezing should be rendered non-viable by the long period of sub-zero temperatures.

[N2 GOLD]

All bugs SUCK, big time...

Originally Posted by T.G

I can't say for certain that such a system does not exist, or was not tried at some point in the past, but I've been to a number of factories and I've neither seen, nor heard of, any apparatus fitting that description.

I'm thinking that what they might have been talking about was the aforementioned blast freezing process where a freezer room is stacked, then brought down to extreme sub-zero temperatures very rapidly and held there for a few days. The eggs that aren't shattered by the rapid temperature drop and freezing should be rendered non-viable by the long period of sub-zero temperatures.

Thanks for the quick reply. What you say makes sense. I read about it in Ted Gage's The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cigars, but I totally could had misunderstood what he was talking about.

Originally Posted by craiggory

Thanks for the quick reply. What you say makes sense. I read about it in Ted Gage's The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cigars, but I totally could had misunderstood what he was talking about.

You didn't misread the book. Mr. Gage does indeed make the claim that vacuum chambers are used to eradicate beetles. I have never seen this substantiated.

[wayner123]

Originally Posted by craiggory

I've read that the factories put their cigars in a vacuum vault to crush the beetle eggs in new cigars before they ship them out. Anybody know if this is true?

Originally Posted by Nathan King

You didn't misread the book. Mr. Gage does indeed make the claim that vacuum chambers are used to eradicate beetles. I have never seen this substantiated.

I haven't read what Mr. Gage wrote, but he probably meant a vacuum chamber with low pressure to kill the beetles. Not to crush them by force. Here is an article on that process:

http://www.ftic.info/pdf/EEC.pdf

Here is what the device Grainpro Cocoon (one of the methods used in the study) had to say happens:

GrainPro Cocoons™ are airtight (hermetic), unsupported rectangular structures made of lightweight UV resistant PVC. The simple two-piece Cocoon consists of a top cover and bottom floor piece joined together with a PVC tongue-&-groove zipper similar to those used to close environmental safety suits. Insects trapped in the bagged grain expire in a matter of days as a result of an increase in carbon dioxide and reduction of oxygen.

I took a quick peek in the book again and that is indeed the system he was referring to.

[wayner123]

Originally Posted by craiggory

I took a quick peek in the book again and that is indeed the system he was referring to.

It's different ways of going about the same results. The eradication of the beetles. One uses freezing and one uses CO2 and heat. It would be interesting to know which marca's use which method, as I wonder if either has an impact on flavor or aging.

[wayner123]

Originally Posted by T.G

I don't actually recall having this conversation with you before.

It appears that you missed the key word "form" - this is something that happens during chrysalis from a larvae to an adult. Not that a fully formed adult can't fly in colder temps. And of course, there are always exceptions.

You also should try reading the PDF from Cigar Magazine that you linked to before you attempt to wave it around.

Look at page 3 under "Temperature is Key"

You can see the previous discussion here: http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...n*#post1083303

But that aside, you've covered yourself by saying, there are always exceptions. And that might be what's going on. The life cycle points out "Pupation takes from one to three weeks and after emerging the adults live from one to four weeks." So there could be some overlap but middle of Oct. temps were still below 71.5.

I did find another article though that shows if less than 18C (64.4F) temps are maintained the reproductive cycle can be blocked. http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=17686632 But that was from eggs dying, not wing formation.

Originally Posted by md4958

Wayne, in that PDF you cited, under "Temprature is the Key" it states exactly what Adam had said earlier about the temprature at which they fly. Which you disagreed with (quoted below)

The pdf I linked to was simply a nice write-up on beetles in general. I put the disclaimer that it's from cigar magazine, so take it for what it's worth. The author does refer to names but there are no specific sources cited for the material he is referencing. I had to look up through journals what he was referencing. Mueller (whom I assume is David K Mueller of insectslimited) is trying to promote his own line of products. So again, take that for what you will. It also seemed that T.G was quoting from that article, so I posted the link.

I still cannot find Mueller's research that shows that wing formation stops at 70F. Unless this was some sort of personal conversation between the article's author and Mueller. in which case I won't find it. I did however, find that at 20C (68F) eggs still hatched. In my own geeky way I would like to read the article on wing development.

This is most likely the journal that will have that information if any of them do: http://journals.cambridge.org/action...ne&aid=2606196

Any of you college kids have access to this journal??

[shilala]

Just to touch on the 80/80 statement...
Aside from the obvious beetle problem, mold starts growing (for intents and purposes) at 80%RH. The marry guy is borderline ready to grow mushrooms in that walk-in. It shouldn't even be called a walk-in, it should be called a run-away.

[xlc12rf]

Originally Posted by wayner123

You can see the previous discussion here:

Any of you college kids have access to this journal??

Sorry, itll still cost me $45. I tried, though.