OK, I see more talk about beetles, and I know a few of you guys freeze your cigars when they arrive.

This got me thinking that we all have a few hundred or a few thousand cigars in our homes, but the online retailers have tens if not hundreds of thousands of cigars in their warehouses. What do they do to make sure beetles don't spread?

A few years back I walked into a B+M local to me that also does a very big online business (the King place) and asked the retail counter guy if he had a few specific cigars/sizes. He looked at me like a devilish leprachaun and said "not here, but follow me..." Now, usually I would be wary, but for some reason my guard was down and I followed him across the parking lot to another building that was the online warehouse. There were tens of thousands of cigars in there. The humidity felt like it was 75%-80% and temps were not cool.

So, are the large retailers counting on business insurance to cover a loss if beetles make it from the manufacturer to their warehouses and eat through tons of cigars? Or is there some other measure they take to safeguard against beetles?

this is a very interesting post. Following...

Been in 2 of the old Thompson warehouses. Those were climate controlled. They were miniature versions of the now known Amazon depots being built all over the place. They even had a shop, lounge and clearance section. Open to the public.

So, it was under 70 degrees (the temp beetles seem able to withstand)? Interesting. The King warehouse was definitely NOT below that temp, and the humidity felt high..

Tampa, FL.

Tried like HELL to get CBid and CI to move here to "Cigar City". They bought out Thompson's instead. Closed the local warehouses. 1 is now a FedEx terminal and the other was demolished and a newer bigger multi-tennant terminal built.

I miss walking down to them on lunch break. 🇨🇮

My own opinion is that the issue is over hyped and much less of a problem then people claim. The farms don't have ac, most of the factories don't have ac, most of the storage warehouses don't have AC, most of them also have higher humidity then the 70% we have all been told is ideal and yet you don't hear about beetles destroying a ton of stock.

I'm sure it happens once in a while and to some small degree but not on a widespread level that would cause it to be an issue. Cigars are shipped all over the world in cardboard boxes with no humidity or temp control in transit, hell when i lived in turkey it could take almost 2 months some times for a shipment to make it through the military and Embassy mail systems. almost 30 years of smoking cigars and close to 20 of storing them myself and i have not once had an outbreak and can only remember 2 incidents when i even saw evidence of a beetle... one was from a "smoke shop" cigar that i picked up on a trip and didn't pay attention to when buying, and the other was from a trade on this site.

im sure insurance has had to ay out for claims but if it was a common issue the insurance would get so expensive it wouldn't be cost effective to have.

i know my info is all anecdotal and opinion but based on that i feel the thread is overhyped and just overthinking something that is fairly uncomplicated.

Agreed. It probably only happens once a year most likely less to a select portion of product and is identified by warehouse and the inventory is checked and removed. Its then up the the retailer and manufacturer what they do about the transaction losses. Most modern large warehouse aren't designed where a localized beetle infestation would spread to other product.

I also agree with the foregoing. Ive been doing this a pretty long time, and never had an issue, and believe me, I have OBSESSED over this kind of crap ( as some of you know LOL ). I think its a semi valid concern, as it DOES happen, but certainly not with any regularity. But thats just my opinion.

Yeah, I have been in their warehouse a few times as well as the High place that ships all over the US. Temp control seems to be of little concern.

I believe most of the fear about beetles comes from Habanos not "domestic" sources.

The only cigars I always freeze are Habanos which have a deserved reputation for causing beetle problems. I keep my house and cigars at 77F most of the year and receive shipments in some hot months in Az and have never had any issues. Of course I don't store my cigars above 63-64 RH either.

In nearly 14 years of serious enjoyment of cigars, I have only had one issue with beetles and one issue with mold, and both were from boxes of Habanos purchased in 2013. Having had good fortune and storing cigars at about 60-64 RH and 76-78F, I'm not worried about beetles destroying my stash.

Never had a problem with beetles but because of the usual 70s to 80s temperatures and ambient humidity above 70 most days, mold has been a constant concern for me. Couple times I’ve had to toss cigars because the foot had the white mold on it.