I was wondering if anybody has had any problems with Tobacco Beetles and long term snuff storage?

Is this even possible? I have not heard of anybodies bulk stash being affected so far.

I think tobacco beetles prefer the living plant. I could be way wrong.

I believe its almost impossible to have snuff tobacco being infected by tobacco beetles, because of nature how snuff is made. Leaf is milled, sometimes toasted and also other aditives are added such as salt, washing soda and or salmiak (or ammonia water). Also I believe in countries with temperate climate its almost impossible unless snuff is not contaminated with infected cigars. And of course I have heard a lot of gruesome stories about ruines cigar stashes damaged by adding unfrozen fresh cigars from Caribean or Mezzoamezica (Mexico or Honduras). Next hot pressed pipe tobaccos are imune to this infection. Jack

Right…They need to suck juice out of living plant. And they are very good at that. I had all kinds of bugs attached to my multiple tobacco crops. But snuff has nothing to offer them except death by nicotine. Bit of trivia- several species of tobacco pests are protected by becoming toxic with absorbed nicotine.

 Not in my snuff  . In my garden I have encountered  Horn worms.  I wouldn’t feed these guys to any pets.

I hear they are a problem with cigars storage.

I’ve never seen or heard that happening with snuff. I would also guess it would have to do with the production of snuff. I could be wrong though. As far as the hornworms go, bearded dragons enjoy eating the hornworms.

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Agreed. Not an issue for snuff, cigars are a different story but not with snuff.

@Psicko they may not be as toxic if their main consumption was some plant other than tobacco. I’d even be concerned if I picked them off eggplant or any nightshade plant. I only once found a small horn worm, I found many full grown and one ate half a large tomato and 1/4 of the plant. I checked everyday. They grow very fast and blend right in.

  I gave my beardies,  newborn pinkies for a treat. Dragons will eat most things and enjoy them, Not saying they should. stuff that contains Oxalates , Goitrogen, Phosphorus, Vitamin A and D3 can cause serious problems . Unless you grow those horn worms yourself or buy them from a dealer I wouldn’t risk it. 

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Tobacco beetles are found in mostly unprocessed tobacco products. Snuff, cigarettes and pipe tobacco are each in their own ways processed, so tobacco beetles are generally unheard of in those products. Especially snuffs, which are milled, toasted etc, as mentioned above.

Cigars on the other hand are made from leaves that could still potentially have viable beetle eggs on them. They only hatch when the conditions are just right for them, similar to the way other species of beetles hatch. They need a certain temperature and humidity for a certain sustained period before they emerge. I think tobacco beetles are said to require 75/75 - which is to say a minimum of 75 degrees F and 75% humidity for a sustained period (maybe a week or two?). That is why cigar collectors get obsessive over their humidor settings, 68/68 being most peoples’ ideal target for long-term storage,

Like pipe tobacco, snuffs ought generally to be kept at a lower humidity that cigars, and it goes without saying that they are best stored in a cool, dark, dry environment.

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i ordered some bulk pipe tobacco a few months ago that was full of tobacco beetles. i had already smoked a few bowls of it before i noticed. yuck 

@peacock  From what supplier? I read if you freeze them they won’t hatch. but you should defrost in the fridge before using.  

@basement_shaman i got it in a bulk bag from pipesandcigars.com i only got a few ounces to try. some daughters and ryan  i think. they were already full grown in the bag when i got it

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@peacock Thanks for the info. Good thing you didn’t buy a five lb bag of it.

D&R tobacco is totally uncased and unprocessed, just shredded dry tobacco. I should probably keep a sharp eye on my mason jars of D&R. Well at least it’s good containment if there’s an infestation.