Although it can come as a shock, it is true that there are certain small insects that infest you cigars. This is not a new piece of information for an old cigar lover but if you are new to the world of cigars, you may find a box of cigar infested with a kind of tobacco bug, if you are not careful. There are ways to counter these pests though, but before you know about how to stop these from infesting your cigar, let us discuss a little about the pest.
The scientific name of the infamous tobacco beetle is Lasioderma Serricorne and it can infest all sorts of tobacco, the richer perhaps the better for them actually. This pest is not exactly restricted to any particular climatic conditions; this means that any cigar in any part of the world can have an infestation if tobacco is produced there. However, it is somewhat fond of hot climatic conditions like the type found in the Caribbean islands.
The beetles are actually present in your cigar even before you bought them; they were there from the time when the tobacco leaves were still on the plants. The beetle reaches your cigar in the form of white larvae which are laid by fully grown beetles on the tobacco leaves on which they feed. The larvae are quite small with the longest being only about 4 millimeters. After the larva hatches, out comes the moth that is a voracious eater of the tobacco leaves. This relentless consumption prepares the moths for turning into the full grown Lasioderma Serricorne.
There have been plenty of efforts to control the tobacco beetle, but the beetle has proved it self to be resistant to most pesticides and insecticides. The incredible Lasioderma Serricorne is capable of surviving the process of fermentation, ageing and production; it is therefore possible that the tobacco beetle has infested your cigars as well.
If you have cigar infested cigars then there are ways to detect it. If your cigar resembles a flute due to doubtful holes on the outside, then it is a sign that the tobacco bug is eating away your cigar. The worse case scenario is when you open a box of cigars hoping to smoke one from your Cuban collection, and find a remnant of what used to be a cigar as the beetles have eaten the cigar through!
Now that the discussion about the pest is complete, let us talk about ways to get rid of these unwanted tobacco lovers. The first thing that you must do is find out which cigars are already showing the signs of the bug’s activity and then throw the infested cigars away. Next, place the cigars in your microwave machine. Yes, microwave is the best way to deal with these resilient beetles. Run the machine for three minutes and then take the heated cigars out and place them in the freezer without delay. Wait for a full day’s span of twenty four hours and then defrost them in room temperature before placing the cigars inside the humidor. These are a sure shot way of ridding your cigars of Lasioderma Serricorne larvae, but just remember to do the whole procedure for all cigars at once and not separately.
Author Resource:
Gary Cigaros is an author writing about cigar related topics, and you are invited to visit his website covering number of aspects about Cuban cigars & cigar lighters. http://www.rarecubancigar.com
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