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I talked to the company thay makes them and was going to bring some in but dropped the ball. Fuji Flavor Co in japan. They do have an exp date do be careful John and ask again.
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We cross our bridges when we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered.
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[user=3]lz6[/user] wrote: Quote:Living with parasites - From Russian Cigar Clan on-line magazine
The history of tobacco is counted in tens of thousands of years, and over this time, it has learned to cope with bad weather conditions, diseases and pests. Though to be fair ââ¬â not without a little help from man. In this article, Willy Alvero, general representative of Habanos S.A. in Russia, describes how tobacco experts help the plant to survive against parasites.
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Quote:The tobacco beetle
The tobacco beetle, an insect of the species lasioderma serricorne, lays its eggs in the tobacco leaves. Unlike other pests, the hatched larvae do not eat the tobacco leaves, but go into a kind of suspended animation. This happens because the larvae do not like the ordinary vegetable taste of the leaves. They reawaken when the tobacco is harvested and acquires, as the result of fermentation and maturing, rich gustatory and aromatic characteristics. As a result, it is the cigars and not the plants that fall victim to the pests. Once awakened, the tiny light-yellow larvae start eating the tobacco. This they continue doing for from 30 to 60 days, leaving long trails through the cigar. By the time they have eaten enough, the larvae have reached a length of about four millimetres. They then turn into a cocoon, from which the adult insect appears in about 9 to 20 days. In size, it is no longer than three millimetres, but it has a revolting appearance: its body is hunched and covered with hard, testaceous plates; its head is bent downwards; and its back is crowned with a ridge of sharp spikes. The adult lasioderma makes a hole to get out of the cigar and then hurries to find a mate for the purposes of reproduction. It can fly, but throughout its life it canââ¬â¢t cover more than three kilometres in the air. If it is unable to find a tobacco plantation, the lasioderma makes for ready-made cigars. This insect can easily bore a hole in a cigar box and even get into a metallic tube if there is the slightest crack in it, so strong are the testaceous plates on its body.
The hunchbacked beetle, whose head consists of nothing by teeth, is the piranha of the insect world. Its larvae are dangerous both for tobacco leaves and for ready-made cigars
The lasioderma is the enemy of the ready-made cigar. The fact that it can exist perfectly well a long way from the tobacco plantations means that it can regularly be found in tobacco warehouses, shops and cigar rooms around the world. It can easily get into a home humidor and in a short while ruin a collection, which a smoker has made over many years. Adult lasiodermae can survive at temperatures from 2 to 36ðC, so even the cold Russian climate is not a problem to them. True, the insect cannot breed at a temperature lower than 20ðC, so in winter Russian smokers can be more or less worry-free. But when the temperature reaches 30ðC and the humidity ââ¬â 78%, the lasioderma ceases to eat and drink, and does nothing but reproduce its own kind. Given a hot summer after rainfall, or the conditions of a humidor or a cigar room, nothing can hold it back. There need only be lasioderma larvae in one cigar to produce several adults, which will then reproduce and in a few months eat up the whole contents of a cigar box.
A cigar that has played host to lasioderma larvae is impossible to smoke, because the smoke goes through the holes that they have made in it and will simply not draw. If you do try to smoke a cigar that has been infected with the larvae, the taste and aroma will contain an unpleasant protein tang ââ¬â to put it simply, the taste of burnt meat. To check whether there are larvae inside a cigar, tap one end on a table. If there are larvae present, a dark powder will be shaken out of the cigar ââ¬â the larvae faeces.
There are numerous methods of protecting tobacco and cigars against lasioderma. Tobacco producers maintain cleanliness at the factories and clear away the clippings that could attract adult beetles. But this does not provide complete security. Before dispatching their products abroad, the Cubans put the loaded cigar boxes in hermetically sealed chambers, into which a cyanide-based gas is introduced. The gas is under pressure and so it penetrates every part of the box and every part of the cigars. The larvae perish and the gas is quickly dispersed ââ¬â so cigars processed in this way are not dangerous to the smoker. Unfortunately, the lasiodermae ââ¬â amazing as it may seem ââ¬â appear to realize that they are in a gas chamber and try to lay their eggs in the veins of the tobacco leaves, where the gas cannot penetrate due to the thickness of the cigar veins ââ¬â and so the larvae manage to survive.
An effective means of combating the lasioderma and a good prophylactic measure is to freeze the cigars ââ¬â at low temperatures the larvae and the eggs die. The cigars should be frozen at a temperature of -20ðC for several days, and then defrosted by slowly raising the temperature. If this process is not hurried, the thawing cigar will not lose its fine external appearance, and the wrapper leaf will not show a sign of the freezing. Furthermore, specialists are of the opinion that freezing improves the draw of the cigars.
To find out whether the pest has infected a cigar shop or a storehouse, special traps are set up that give off the odour of female lasioderma hormones. This attracts the males. If only one or two fall into the trap, thereââ¬â¢s nothing to worry about. But if there are several insects, you can assume that somewhere they have been breeding and the number of the pests will inevitably increase. In this situation, it is essential to destroy their ââ¬Ëhearthââ¬â¢ ââ¬â the place, where the maximum number of adult beetles and larvae are concentrated. So as not to ruin all the cigars, several traps should be put around the room. Then, wherever the greatest number of insects appears, this will be near where the ââ¬Ëhearthââ¬â¢ is located.
Thereââ¬â¢s no point in getting too worried about lasioderma. The numbers of infected Cuban cigars that get to Russia are hundredths or even thousandths of a percent of the total volume of imports. This is to the credit of the people who are responsible for quality control and who combat the pest at all stages through which first the tobacco and then the cigars pass.
The fact that tobacco today is grown safely and protected from pests, blue mould and other enemies is the result of long and painstaking labour. Instead of having their workers spend years in the laboratories developing new varieties or out in the blazing heat from sunrise to sunset removing weeds and pests, the plantations could simply be sprayed with chemicals. But then, the tobacco would lose the greater part of its amazing qualities, and we wouldnââ¬â¢t be able to enjoy its delicious taste.
The highest quality cigars belong to the hecho a mano (handmade) category. Itââ¬â¢s a shame that when we say these words, we think mainly about the method of rolling. It might also be a good idea to remember the work of the tobacco-growers.
Prepared by ELDAR TUZMUKHAMEDOV
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I gather you have me down for 1.
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Put me in for another one. If you are ordering 20 I'll take two and pick them up at the Herf.
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Keith Wrote:Put me in for another one. If you are ordering 20 I'll take two and pick them up at the Herf. Ditto Skip, unless someone else needs 1.
If Sonny had EZ-Pass, he'd have survived that hit...
Never apologize mister, it's a sign of weakness. - Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles
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I'll take 2 skip. 1for me and 1 for REDPHOENIX
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Skipper if you have any left put me in for one more(3) I think I am getting another cooler 
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are there still any of these left? if there are, i'd take one. if not, no big deal.
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OK Folks, please PM me with your address and the number of traps you want. FCFS according to those of you who mentioned it here. Scott, I got 20 so I think you are OK.
I think they will fit neatly in a regular envelope I'l play tomorrow. I pait $220 for 20. That's an even 11 each. It I can mail them out the way I want, then no extra for my postage.
I'll take a check, PayPal or anything you guys want to pay me with except women over 50.
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2 Tonto (herf)
2 Keith (herf)
2 Fishhound (Herf)
2 Vit G (Need your address)
1 Jimmie (Herf)
1 BudaBill (On the way)
2 Bonzai (need address)
3 Steve (on the way)
1 Scott81425 (need adress)
2 Skipper
I checked all over and no exipry date
2 left
Please PM me your address if indicated.
Keith, you going to the LI herf, right?
Let me know if I made any mistakes.
So far I have 2 traps "working" with no sign (as I thought) but the peace of mind is awesome!
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