Tobacco Beetles and Baggies?

[T.G]

Originally Posted by Average Joe

Go chew some tin foil and report back on how easy it is. I remember being a little dumb @## when I was little and doing that. Took me about 1/8th of a bite to learn

I'm sorry, to whom exactly is this statement directed?

I would hope you actually read the thread to see where the claims were being made before blindly jumping in with both feet.

[Average Joe]

Originally Posted by Wallbright

I just read the hygros in the humi and they say 74 and 72 so not too bad but I hear the beetles start to be a problem close to 79-80 right?

Mine has been at 74 all summer with no problems. I freeze everything right when it comes in. I don't need tobacco beetles chewing through the steel supports in my basement.

Originally Posted by BC-Axeman

I think I read on a website somewhere that they use static electricity to arc their way through metal. I'll try to find that link. Maybe Wikipedia.

Do you think they could arc their way through my head wear?

Originally Posted by T.G

I'm sorry, to whom exactly is this statement directed?

I would hope you actually read the thread to see where the claims were being made before blindly jumping in with both feet.

Really? I'm going to act like you didn't take my post that seriously.

How much thicker are the walls of a tubo though? The RyJ ones I have seem pretty thin but definitely thicker than tin foil.

I think I read on a website somewhere that they use static electricity to arc their way through metal. I'll try to find that link. Maybe Wikipedia.

This one says something about tin foil and it is from University of Nebraska.

Cigarette and Drugstore Beetles. These are small robust beetles that infest a wide range of processed foods, including dry pet food, cereals, spices, drugs and other packages foods. They also attack tobacco. They can chew through tin foil and penetrate most food packaging materials.

http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ftoct03.htm

I don't know if it is the same beetle?

[pnoon]

I read it on the internet. It must be true.

Originally Posted by pnoon

I read it on the internet. It must be true.

Well to be fair a University has more credibility than hill billy Joe writing out of his trailer parked in the middle of Texas using beer cans as makeshift antenna to get satellite internet.

Edit: It should be added though that you could be right and this information could be false. I am just saying that at least it is from a University instead of somewhere not as credible.

I found a kind of cool study that looked at traces of metal in the mandibles of the cigar beetles. No mention of them chewing THROUGH metal though. I only skimmed it so someone with more time can look but doing a search for the word metal popped up alot of info on traces in their mandibles.

http://ddr.nal.usda.gov/bitstream/10...ND23316635.pdf

Edit:

This article suggests that they cannot eat through metal. (I am not saying the above does, I am just throwing some more articles and research out).

Store susceptible foods in insect-proof containers of glass, heavy plastic, or metal, ideally with screw-type lids, or store in a refrigerator or freezer. Use older packages before new ones, avoid spillage in cabinets, and always keep food-storage spaces clean. Properly ventilate the storage area to discourage these moisture-loving pests.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2083.html

[Zeuceone]

If a cigar has been aged for three years, would that be long enough for the eggs to die?

[massphatness]

Originally Posted by Zeuceone

If a cigar has been aged for three years, would that be long enough for the eggs to die?

While I'm not an Entomologist, I don't believe it's long enough depending on the storage conditions of the cigars. I tried to research mortality rates for beetle eggs but couldn't come up with anything that spoke to how long they live at "normal" temps. Lots of data on the effects of extreme heat and cold, but not so much "room temperature" data.

I'm a better safe than sorry guy -- so I freeze EVERYTHING -- including my previously frozen sticks if I take them to a herf and someone hands me a cigar that I end up throwing in my herf-a-dor. I am NOT screwing with my collection if I can help it. It's one thing to have a box of cigars confiscated, but to lose a box (boxes) which have successfully made it into my humidor? I would kick my own ass into next week.

[icehog3]

Thank goodness for Google, now we know everythiing.

Originally Posted by icehog3

Thank goodness for Google, now we know everythiing.

Haha well in all fairness though some were from Universities. Which a step up from google but is by no means conclusive.

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by Wallbright

Haha well in all fairness though some were from Universities. Which a step up from google but is by no means conclusive.

put . . . the . . . shovel . . . down

Originally Posted by pnoon

put . . . the . . . shovel . . . down

Haha okay.

[poker]

Originally Posted by Wallbright

Haha well in all fairness though some were from Universities. Which a step up from google but is by no means conclusive.

Many University studies aint all that bright either.

A study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that “people who bike or walk to work are more fit, less fat than drivers.”

[wayner123]

Ok, I think I found what I had remembered:



There is a small something or other on the tube above the "A" in Julieta. I can't say that it is a beetle hole. So I guess I remembered it wrong. My bad.

[Average Joe]

Originally Posted by wayner123

Ok, I think I found what I had remembered:



There is a small something or other on the tube above the "A" in Julieta. I can't say that it is a beetle hole. So I guess I remembered it wrong. My bad.

I ran a full CSI Miami analysis on the picture and it appears the hole was actually made by Luke Skywalker. From the reflection on the tubo it looks like the photographer had a sandwich for lunch and still had some lettuce on his mustache.

Originally Posted by poker

Many University studies ain't all that bright either.

Very true. Causation and correlation often times get confused with studies like the one you quoted.

[Drez]

I've been looking into this beetle setting through a tube and mortality rates for the eggs and I too can't find much info on either at room temp.

I think it's widely agreed on that freezing everything is the best preventive mesure but it is still not a 100% percent that you will not have a beetle hatch and ruin a stick or 2.

I believe that if you choose to freeze everything you should still check your stock fromtime to time and make sure everything is still good. I "play" with my stash every few weeks and I use that time to look over some sticks, reorginize, and inspect my sticks.

Keep the temps as low as possible and the humidity in "range" and you should not have to worry about a beetle outbreak let alone them eatting through a tube.

[Tbagley]

Wow that Romeo has a house full of friends, imagine the look on the face of the guy opening that tube!