# Mild Pitting of Beck **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 12, 2024, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691 "2024-10-12T05:25:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 36
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2025, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/701 "2025-08-30T04:56:09Z")
I have a love/hate relationship with Beck. Even back when I was a mod, I thought her [a troll](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-thread-for-all-things-cephalopod/801246/119) and was known—for awhile—as one of her biggest “non fans”, I guess you could say. Heh, where were you all when her and I were doing our regular bickering in Pit threads? Guess the train hadn’t started yet. But then we sort of made up and I felt more sympathy for her for a time. I didn’t know where it came from but then I eventually realized… I just didn’t care about the whole thing anymore. Her or the dislike I had. So now I just mostly ignore her. ---
**Author:** ![Latimera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/latimera/32/497_2.png) [@Latimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latimera)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2025, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/702 "2025-08-30T05:23:21Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Most importantly, listen lots and post rarely. Basically been my mantra here for 20 years… ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2025, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/703 "2025-08-30T05:31:10Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > So now I just mostly ignore her. Same. She’s one of a very small number of people on my ignore list. Problem is, Discourse developers don’t really like the ignore feature, just from a philosophical standpoint, and have integrated it poorly in a number of ways. So given how much fucking drivel Beck constantly posts, I still have to deal with it to keep the interface clean. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2025, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/704 "2025-08-30T05:44:56Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I’m not the one acting like Peggy Hill. Are you still having those nightmares where the roadrunner pecks out your eyes? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2025, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/705 "2025-08-30T06:00:44Z")
Hers is the first reply in the “making Italian beef at home” thread (the thread about Chicago-style Italian beef sandwiches) where it is abundantly clear she has never had one nor even knows what they are, despite a thorough description in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2025, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/706 "2025-08-30T08:14:44Z")
You know what? Fine. I don’t dislike her as a person. She can be very sweet and kind. She is one of the only people who checked up on me when I was absent, and even notices things about me that changed. (Check my profile.) I don’t tend to mind her having less than useful comments. It’s like, yeah, that’s not helpful, but meh. And I have sympathy when people outside of this thread go after her because of their personal issues. The main issue is just that she got offended and will not stop scolding. And even then I can be sympathetic because that’s how I used to be sometimes. But even I would just back away after a bit, or try to apologize for what I did wrong. It’s just like: don’t go after everyone for being mean to you if you’re going to be mean to them. Either stay above it, and learn to ignore those who enjoy making you mad, or dive in and stop with the righteous indignation that someone said something dumb in the Pit. And, of course, back off of anything if people are telling you that it’s bigoted. That’s when you stop and investigate yourself, not assume others are to blame. Don’t be that person who thinks solely about themselves when you might have hurt others. It’s easy to do, of course. But hold yourself to a higher standard – the standard you seem to hold people do when it involves hurting your feelings. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2025, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/707 "2025-08-30T18:09:05Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > t’s easy to do, of course. But hold yourself to a higher standard – the standard you seem to hold people do when it involves hurting your feelings. I am impressed, you do have a good side, I always thought you were such an ass hole. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2025, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/708 "2025-08-31T02:12:09Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > and even notices things about me that changed. (Check my profile.) Whoa! I’m on the boards much less frequently than normal (for me), so I’m not sure if this has been common knowledge, recent, or whatever. But that IS a big change. Changes are hard and are to be commended. Big changes even moreso. I am not great at remembering pronoun changes, so preemptive apologizes if I slip up. Back to the regularly scheduled dumping on the Traindawrek. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2025, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/709 "2025-08-31T02:41:52Z")
Its sad that its regularly scheduled. I don’t even notice the silly statements. Its the I Can Never Be Wrong or Disagreed With. I tried to tell her, back when we were on friendly terms. Nah, I was instantly the Enemy. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2025, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/710 "2025-08-31T03:18:08Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > She is one of the only people who checked up on me when I was absent, and even notices things about me that changed. (Check my profile.) Oh wow, best wishes! ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2025, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/711 "2025-08-31T17:48:17Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > and even notices things about me that changed. (Check my profile.) Oh, wow. Get it, girl! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2025, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/712 "2025-08-31T19:11:21Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > How about read his OP. He actually asked, the last sentence, “how to kill them?” Was that _all_ that was asked? Answer: No. “Any idea where they can all be coming from, what we can do to prevent these explosions, and how best to kill them?” ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2025, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/713 "2025-08-31T19:22:07Z")
It’s a moot point anyway. You kill fruit flies with much different strategies than regular houseflies, for instance. “A fly is a fly” is nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/714 "2025-08-31T20:01:55Z")
Flyswatter, perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2025, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/715 "2025-08-31T20:40:40Z")
Kindness. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2025, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/716 "2025-08-31T20:56:33Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Flyswatter, perhaps? Try getting rid of a fruit fly infestation with a flyswatter, and you’ll get mad. It’s like fighting wind mills. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2025, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/717 "2025-08-31T21:35:54Z")
The OP of that thread was _probably_ not dealing with a fruit fly infestation but I have had that problem and it was _really_ easy to deal with. A cup of vinegar left out was enough to entice them and they drowned in the vinegar. Some websites suggested coating the inside of the cup with a little soap, so it’s slippery enough that they can’t climb out but even without doing that, I was finding dead fruit flies in the vinegar for a few days and then nothing. And a cup of vinegar is a completely passive solution. No need to run around trying to swat the flies and the trap works even when you’re away from home or asleep. Plus it’s non-toxic. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2025, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/718 "2025-09-01T00:53:36Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Plus it’s non-toxic. My mother (of all people!) suggested something similar, although she suggested a glass of red wine. Which has the advantage of the other 5 glasses of wine being used to “ignore” the flies… ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2025, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/719 "2025-09-01T12:11:06Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Try getting rid of a fruit fly infestation with a flyswatter, and you’ll get mad. It’s like fighting wind mills. Where I work, we got _lots_ of fruit flies. If you have one of those electronic zapping flyswatters, running it through a swarm of them makes an impressive sound. Like tiny little electronic popcorn kernels popping. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Some websites suggested coating the inside of the cup with a little soap, so it’s slippery enough that they can’t climb out but even without doing that, I was finding dead fruit flies in the vinegar for a few days and then nothing. Sometimes we’ll go that too. Water, a drop or two of soap (just to break the surface tension of the water so they drown) and something to attract them. Vinegar works, random chunks of pineapple or tomato or whatever fruit they tend to be hovering around. I never stuck my head into the thread in question, but I saw the title and wondered if they may have been flying ants. Those things will show up in huge swarms and then disappear after a week or two. A few weeks ago I had them in one area of my house. There would be a huge swarm of them around a skylight when I’d get home from work. I’d vacuum as many of them up as I could reach, but after a few hours they’d disappear, somewhere, and reemerge the following day. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2025, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691/720 "2025-09-01T12:18:11Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > > > Try getting rid of a fruit fly infestation with a flyswatter, and you’ll get mad. It’s like fighting wind mills. > > Where I work, we got _lots_ of fruit flies. If you have one of those electronic zapping flyswatters, running it through a swarm of them makes an impressive sound. Like tiny little electronic popcorn kernels popping. Well, I didn’t think of electric swatters, I guess they will work on fruit flies. But trying to kill them with a traditional mechanical flyswatter is a fool’s errand. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691.md?page=35) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mild-pitting-of-beck/1008691.md?page=37)