bugs !!!! aaaaaaaaaahhhhh

[Junglesteader]

hey folks , been a while,
i wasnt sure where else to put this, cuz theres no "storage" problems section.
ive got air cured baccy in 5 gal buckets with locking lids and the leaves are getting eaten, theres a few kinds of bugs it seems, one maybe cockroach but i havent seen any only bug poo that looks like cockroch crap!

the ONLY LIVE bug i found was a very small white grub ! yikes !!!

he was just munchin away. eeeesh, tarzan in trouble if all jungle medicine gets ate by bugs, and covered in bug doodoo, he go crazy and need order from don ! argh! good for don bad for jungle boy !

could it be a hornworm baby ?

man and i thought it was used as insecicide not bug food ! hah, even i dont like tobacco enough to EAT IT. natures true nicotine fiends , the bugs living in my baccy buckets,
oh boy ,
any suggestions?

 

[FmGrowit]

Welcome back Jungle Boy.

Put a lid on the buckets and take them to the sunny side of the island and let them cook in the sun for a few hours. The other thing you could try is a pheromone trap. I use them all the time for stored leaf.

Pheromone trap

 

[rainmax]

Freeze those buckets for three days+ on -16 deg.Celsius/ 3F.

 

[Southern Planter]

They used to put carbon tetra-chloride in food buckets for long storage of wheat and what not. A teaspoon on a paper towel over the top, then put on the lid.

Key words here, "used to".

 

[Knucklehead]

Place bugs and tobacco in separate buckets.

 

[Brown Thumb]

I have had hornworms eat my hanging Baccy. But it gets cold and they die. I find them buy the crap on the floor benith the leaf.
have a pick of its crap?
That white grub might be the hornworm going into it dormate stage.

 

[chillardbee]

I think Maks has got the right Idea by freezing it. Unless you were going to toast the leaf then that would do a fairly good job at baking the critters.

 

[Knucklehead]

No offense to anyone presenting ideas here, they all sound like they could work. Except mine. I would just state that FmGrowit's livelihood is dependent on keeping his tons of tobacco bug free.

 

[oldbear]

Folks,
There are several "bugs" (mostly beetles and a few moths) that can eat tobacco. Cigarette beetles are common. Freezing your batch is a good way to cleanse your leaf of live bugs, even eggs. If you can't freeze your batch you can easily use CO2. You can get a CO2 tank from a restaurant supply or a fire extinguisher company. You can also get a small amount of dry ice and toss it into your bucket (being careful not to make a "dry ice bomb") which will kill most bugs within a half an hour and all in a week. Since the CO2 isn't toxic (once it has aired out, CO2 IS toxic if you breathe enough of it) you aren't adding any harmful poisons to your leaf.

Oldbear

 

[ArizonaDave]

I've had NO bugs on ordered leaf. I do freeze Cigars after I make them, just to be sure, for 3 days.

 

[Mad Oshea]

You can also take the to a place that makes double pain windows, and ask them to pump in some ARGON. That will kill every bug in them. It takes out the oxegen and wont harm the baccy. It lays heavy in the buckets and won't disipate untill You air them out. A welding shop that welds stainless will have it as well. May not even charge You.

 

[LeftyRighty]

Freeze them or cook'em....either way works.
Freezing does kill the bugs, but not necessarily kill all bug eggs, but most of the common ones..
Heat above 110-115 degrees does the same (except bugbugs require 135+ degrees to kill bugs & eggs)
Easy way to get high temps is put your bucket in a black plastic bag & set in the sun. Put a thermometer in it also to check how hot it's getting.

 

[Bruck]

Easy way to get high temps is put your bucket in a black plastic bag & set in the sun. Put a thermometer in it also to check how hot it's getting.

Sounds like a good way to make cavendish