The Second 2 (3 Feb 12):

Q. I’ve noticed a powdery substance on several of my cigars.  What is this, and need I be concerned?

A. If the substance has a whitish color and can be easily dusted off the cigars without leaving residue, fear not. What you have in this case is “plume” (also called bloom), a natural occurrence caused by the cigars’ sweating off some of the oils that are inherent to tobacco.

Just dust off the cigars prior to smoking them.

If, however, the residue is more of a bluish color and leaves a stain on the wrapper when you dust it off, the cigars are the victims of mold.

Mold is frequently caused by high temperature and humidity levels, so keeping your humidor near the optimal 70 degree/70 percent humidity mark will help avoid this problem.

Also, mold can be caused by not using distilled water in your humidification device, so know what sort of water you are using.

Q. Occasionally some of my cigars will develop holes, and I’ve seen some small bugs crawling around my humidor.  What should I do?

A. Beetles cause one of the most devastating problems found in humidors because they can quickly decimate a cigar supply and are difficult to combat.

Beetle larvae are microscopic and occur naturally in tobacco, and, despite the quality control efforts of manufacturers, are frequently in cigars that make it to market.

Once the temperature reaches 72 degrees, the beetles can hatch; they crawl through the cigars, creating those small round holes that essentially destroy a once-good smoke.

But they can be combated by keeping a vigilant watch on your humidor’s temperature, and perhaps by installing a beetle trap in your humidor.

In addition, beetle larvae can be killed by freezing the cigars. Just put them in your freezer for three days, then move them into the fridge for one day.

After you’ve frozen the cigars, though, take care to slowly acclimate them to re-humidification, lest the wrappers on the cigars crack

Other bugs you may occasionally run into are wood mites—small, white insects that are often the result of opening a fresh wooden box of cigars.

The good news is that these mites won’t harm the cigars, and they don’t live long enough to seriously damage your humidor.

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