Bug inside LCD Screen
July 14th, 2007
Argh, help! I’ve got a living bug crawling around inside my LCD computer monitor! It’s actually walking around which is quite annoying. I’ve no idea how it got in there but it’s small enough to have fit through the small holes at the back of the monitor.
On the bright side, there only seems to be one so they won’t be making babies in there any time soon. Has anyone ever had bugs inside their monitors and how did they get rid of them? The advice I’ve had so far is to wait for them to die and hope that they die off screen or somewhere where it won’t affect the picture too much.
Update (July 2010): Incredibly, this article has had 10,000 hits since it’s been published (most of them being in July each year which seems to be peak season). Please read the comments below for tips and discussion. In my case, I found that the bug disappeared after a few days providing that you don’t squish it or anything. You don’t need to do anything elaborate like taking your screen apart (and would not be advised to). Please do drop a comment below and let us know what’s working for you. – Ken
About Ken
I'm a freelance writer specialising in mobile technology. I've been blogging at Ken's Tech Tips since 2005 with the aim of demystifying mobile technology for the rest of us.
Before writing about mobile technology, my background was in space & atmospheric physics. I have also worked in software development. Nowadays, I help companies to explain mobile technology to their customers. Please check out my portfolio or get in touch for more information. I'm also on Google+.
I hope these bugs die quickly because it is irritating me by letting me finish a mission in my game
there is one inside this school computer i am using it is annoying
I to have a LG LED 47inch tv with a giant ass dead fly in it. IT appears to be behind the screen. not in the screen. tried to take it apart .couldnt get to it. its dead wonder how long it will take to rot out.it sure is a design flaw. Imgoing to try suction cup. or maybe hammer. very annoying.
I got two screens. About 3 weeks ago I got a big in my main screen. It lived for 4 days and died just of to the left of my cross hair when I ply bf 3. It is stil there. Now (3 weeks later) there is one crawling in my second screen. How can I get it out before it dies and get stuck?
OK, I had to Google: thunderbug; mine is definitely a fruit fly. Tiny but annoying and I am hoping it will die and drop. Yesterday it was going across the middle of my 32" RCA HDTV that is my monitor. Today it is just crawling around the bottom, on and off screen.
Shoo fly, Don't bother me………
Got bug in my PX2370 too, Its time to cleanup my messy desk.
Found one today when I was browsing, I tried squishing it but it didn't work, now I know not to anyways. XD
It's gone now and is somewhere near my webcam or something.
i have a 73 inch tv and i have two flies in it trying to mate what do i do
I've got a dead bug on my DS lite top screen, and it won't shift. It's only a spec but it's annoying when I notice it.
I had just bought a new Samsung 55 inch led 3d smart tv and a thunderbug decided to die in the center of the picture behind the glass and did not go, I was not a happy bunny to say the least, now I cover my tv wits a sheet on really got days when they decide thrive.
DAMN!!!
Last night a tiny little stupid bug decided to walk around and across my screen for hours.
Then I went to bed and this morning it's dead :S
Right in the middle of the fucking screen!
Just lying there being totally stupid and to great frustration.
I have tried the things I can do.. this bug won't dissappear out of my life!
#FML!
I too have come across this blog trying to search ways to get rid of a 'bug behind my screen'! I think i will just wait for it to go off screen and die-hopefully! It is VERY annoying though! It is also interesting that we are now in July as well…!
Hello our brothers and sisters in pain. I got one s.o.b. walking around my screen too. At first I was afraid that it was some vicious software and scanned my PC with antivirus for half a day… Later I picked my lens and saw that it’s actually organic o.O Are there better ways than just waiting? I guess i will squash it on the black Windows task bar where it’s invisible
I have that same problem there’s a “pincher” bug in my tv though there’s no holes in it especially big enough for it to fit through
I have 2 bugs crawling across my screen right now its quite annoying! what do i do?
Just struck by stupid ants on the middle of my Dell U2412M a few minutes ago…. It doesn't make any move, I'll try to leave my U24 tonight and see what would happens tommorow .. hope it will gone
I ahve a Toshiba laptop and live on the south coast of new south wales in australia – it is summer here and i have these little white bugs runing around this laptop and also the one that is stationary in the office. Thought it was just me until I did some research on the bugs and came across this article and found out it is common. I will just leave them alone until they die as they arent dong anything excpet being annoying to see them come in and out of the monitor section.
I have two dead medium sized roaches squished against my screen. How do you think that is? NOT FUN.
Yay, it seems that I'm not alone in the world! Last night I was hungry and stressed because I was dealing with two different problems at the same time and it seems that it wasn't enough for me.. I suddenly noticed the presence of a bloody ant crawling on my screen. By the holy efforts of my unconscious rage, I now have a black dot making me company on my LCD screen. I promise you that the first thing that came to my mind after I realised what I've done was the "spirit" of the dead ant with a troll face, saying to some other dead ants in heaven that I finally had a payback for burning and drowning them when I was a kid. Anyway, I thought of opening it, but I guess I'll just keep flicking the damn thing until I break it, get bored or finally remove it of my sight… So, what's left for me now? Laugh at my own stupidity and disgrace! DO NOT SQUISH IT! =)
Having lived in Norfolk and now Lincolnshire, surrounded by wheat and Barley fields, summer is a constant battle with pesky Thunderbugs. They have invaded both mine and my sons LCD's and even "infected" all our hanging (and taped) photos on the wall between the glass and the pictures. My Laptop has so far escaped the plague that comes every summer, but has just picked up an even bigger fiend – a flipping cat flea! It has been in the computer for 12+ hrs now and I am awaiting to see if it finds it's way out! Will turn Laptop off and see if he can escape before he dies.
I have a bug in my screen, right now it's running around, but slower than yesterday. Where will it finally die we are wondering.
Just to update you, I rang Panasonic direct yesterday. Today a man came out from an independent repair firm on their behalf, and has taken the TV away to sort the problem, either by removing the bugs in a clean room, or replacing the panel. That is what I call service.
I have got two dead thunderbugs four inches apart in the centre of my six months old 42" Panasonic LED TV. This, I was told this morning by the retailer "was a cosmetic problem" and not a warranty fault, which they had never come across before, great…..
I don't hold out much hope for them moving as they have been in the same place for a few weeks now. I agree this is a design fault if all of us have the same problem. I am pig sick, this tv cost a fortune and was supposed to be the bees knees, its not so impressive viewing with my little friends in the front row.
i found one roaming like hell around my screen-after an hour it disappeareed ,don't know weather it comes again feelig soo bad wat should i do now
I have one stuck in the center of my brand new laptop… I dont see how i can disassemble the screen and take it out… Cant believe that one tiny little bug can ruin a £800 laptop…
I have one underneath my iPod touch 3G screen, any idea how to get it out? I think it's died as it has not moved for a while
well its dead and in the center of the screen. dammit that little bastard! what can i do instead of hitting my screen like an ape!! first of all how and whyyyyyyaah!??? i got a laptop fyi. stupid problem to have. but it could be worse. could have an infestation of whatever the hell they are.
Don't bother touching it, There just Thunder Bugs and manage to get into the worst of place's, Best thing to do is wait for it to die,
I have one stuck in my screen right now!
Had two bugs and killed them thinking their would be a way to fix them…. then a google search brought me here and ive found out that there is no way to get the dead ones out… sigh…
Something in my left ear said 'patience my son' then something in my right ear said 'squish the blighter' it was a battle but the primeval nature of territory and dominance took over and i squished it in frustration. My only consolation is a continual reminder of my visctory over the screen insurgent.
The thrip inside your monitor will probably end up dying of starvation (considering there is no food inside your monitor for it to survive on). I'm not sure how long it takes, but when it happens, the feet should lose suction and the bug should just fall to the bottom of your monitor and out of site. It'd kinda gross knowing that these things can pile up at the bottom of your monitor, but the best thing to do is to wait for it to starve to death.
DO NOT SQUISH IT!
If, when died, the bug stays on the screen, your best hope is to take it apart using suction cups (as mentioned before). A computer specialist/repair shop should be able to do this fairly easily and cheapily, and may even clean the whole monitor out whilst they're doing it. There should be no need to get a new monitor if there is a bug inside it.
P.S: My live one died the same day I noticed it in my monitor. It was stuck in the same position for a good half hour, but I left my monitor ON so that the heat would frazzle it's feet. Low and behold, it worked! Gave the monitor a few (gentle) taps with my knuckle and the bug dropped to the bottom and out of site.
Maybe a good idea is to, when dead, shine a bright light (or a few) on it, so that it frazzles faster and can easily be knocked down with a tap or two in a short amount of time.
i've just recently seen a thunderfly behind my screen,which is why isearched on google and found this site. i was gonna squash it,but my boyfriend cleverly said it wasn't the best option..after reading experiences here,im so glad i never squashed it. will have to hope he goes away on his own.
Has any posted a Youtube or series of pics regarding dismantling a Samsung Monitor ? Thanks
I'm sry to say this but some of the comments are seriously hilarious (read both pages) and yes I'm one of those who squished the bug and now have a red circle not to far of the center on my LCD monitor like many i read this a bit to late . I mean this is the first time seeing a bug literally inside my monitor I mean how was i supposed to know 0.o
These bugs get me itching so i squished minbe now have 7 dots slap bang in the centre of the screen. Time for a new monitor, grrr!
Feckin Bugs :@ Dissapeared (After damaging plastic outer of screen with antibug spray by mistake) turn it on today after it being in the dark and the Bas**** is back :@ I hate you nature at times.
There is one tiny bug over this comment box right now! i thought i had won and was celebrating when it went completely off screen for 5 mins, only for it return and literally BUG me again
I have had this happen to Dell, Sony and Toshiba laptops and Dell monitors. It has never happened to any of the 4 Apple Mac screens that I have.
Another reason to buy Apple!
I have one right now inside my MacBook. I thought it was on the outside of the screen, and I've squished it. That's why I am looking at this page, and reading the comments. The only fortunate part is it's not in the middle of my screen but towards the edge.
Trouble is, when they do die, they dont decompose. Theyre also often inside the internal display unit which makes it impossible to clear them out.
I too have one in my monitor but I learnt some time ago not to squish it until it's on your terms.
There are two ways to deal with this I find. One is to turn the monitor off and hope for the best. The second method requires you to fire up notepad and maximise it. This makes the entire screen white so you can track the little bugger easily. These things like to move around and they'll eventually walk off one side of the screen. At that moment immediately press the screen and the bezel in the area and put as much pressure on it as you can.
Yes, you may have a bug in your screen. Yes, you may have a dead bug in your screen. But it will be hidden behind the bezel and I can live with that.
I had a little black bug crawling around a week ago. Like a moving fullstop! Then it disappeared, yay!
But just now after startng up my laptop, there he is again. but motionless. He came back to die, the little bugger. 
Will he eventually disappear?
Hi just found this, I have no bugs on the screen. But, I have two old laptops; one in it's case and one not. They were stored firstly under the stairs and then when we moved to the farm in our outer utility room. We were going to throw them out as they are outdated. But my brother took them to see if he could salvage them. He turned them both on, waited till they booted up, pressed the keys and as he describes thousands of small white bugs came scurrying out of the keypad, and over his fingers. He freaked grabbed the hoover and sucked them all out. The hoover is now no longer allowed inside the house as it is full of these white mites, bug thingies, and the laptops are in the shed with the hoover just in case. Anyone heard of anything like this we would love to know as my bro was really quite freaked. Thanks
I have like 12 bugs crawling around, but they whiz in and out of being seen or not on screen. I've TRIED SQUISHING THEM ALOT…and then just fade away…and then come back. They're freaking ninjas, and I don't know if they'll die, or procreate
I've got a bug too.These little bugs are called thunder bugs or thirps.It seems that every time it's hot they appear.They like warm places and i think i should just let it die because it can't stay there more than 6 days without food and aybe it will die and fall off.
I had one yesterday in my mac laptop, that only appeared on my facebook page. It seemed just to stay in that one area, and scrolled down when you scrolled down on the screen, and out of sight. Today another one showed up, on FB, and they don't seem to be on any other page. I don't see them anywhere else except FB page. And then I can scroll down, to get them out of sight. But it freaks me out! Where did they come from? I don't have bugs anywhere else. Occasional, ant, but these don't look like ants. I guess I'll try the lamp idea.
i got 5 in myne i tried the suction cup and 1 moved 15 cm and i got excited and now all 5 of them are in a perfcircle right in the middle
My problem isn't a bug, but its definitely a dark 'something' that's about the size of an ant and even the same shape.. I've dealt with it since I got the monitor, but I think I'm gonna go for the disassembly to see if I can remove it. I'm wondering if some dirt got inside during the manufacturing process, or if its some kind of defect on one of the layers. Anyone have any advice?
I have one of these bugs in my lcd tv could i possibly use compressed air and without opening the tv blow the little bug out of the tv?
lool @ Claire , me too :S
now I am searching : how to clean it
I really wish I'd read the "do not squish" part about five minutes ago.
I'm from Hong Kong, and I also found a dead bug inside my two-week old X100e……
I'm the proud owner of a dead thunderbug just off-center in my 22" samsung syncmaster. As it's still under warranty I sent off a request and they have agreed to exchange my monitor. Result! Hoping for a better model as this one is now over two years old…
hp compaq 6910p,i got a thunderfly behind my screen a few months ago,i decided to leave it in the hope it would escape or die,it died yey,mid screen and very annoying it is too,i took the laptop to pc world and was told it was a dead pixel,i said its a dead thunderfly mate,can it be removed i asked,no the assistant replies its a dead pixel grrrr,my pixel wandered around my screen for 24 hrs before it died i told him!!! and its still there,just to the right >>>>>x there,tried tapping,rubbing,my dyson attached to every small gap but nooo hes there to stay me thinks,
We have 22 of these in our Dell monitor, all dead, tried tapping and the suction thing nothing worked, going to try taking it apart its kill or cure! Maybe we should start a competition to see who has the most.
THE ONLY INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR SAD USERS WHO SQUISHED THE BUG LIKE ME IS THAT WHETHER THE BUG WILL ROT IN FEW MONTHS TIME OR CAN THE LCD OF ANY MAKE OR DESIGN BE PROFESSIONALLY CLEANED FROM THE BUG.
KINDLY HELP.
I experienced the same problem recently and complained to the manufacture, Iiyama, and they replaced the monitor as they said they could not fix it.. I agree with previous suscribers, I consider it a design fault.
Wow, seriously… I had fun reading these, you guys crack me up. But seeing as there was little suggestions on fixing this problems, when Thunder (sorry, its the pet name!) sadly passed away last week after a months fun. I finally got the courage to pull apart my screen with a mate, and he was moved to a better place… with a tooth pick! Check out the pics, was so hilarious we posted them. And you find out some amazing things too, like how many parts there are to and LCD screen! ROFL
Cheers! Good luck!
(Check pics and enjoy! http://yfrog.com/1gimg0366djx )
Hey the bug in my TV has lasted 7 days I'm getting really worried its not gonna die soon. I think its an ant as i cant see any wings and.
I need to get this sorted ASAP.
I have exactly the same problem, and not only with my laptop but my dsi as well! I would love to know what the insect is called so i could look up on them.
I believe they are called thunderbugs/thrips.
Ken
Wow, I just seen like three different spiders crawling through mine! I thought it was on the outside, but apparently after smashing my screen (dumb move btw) it was still creepin along. I was like, wtf, Am I crazy? No, Im not..lol so i guess the only thing to do is just let the scary looking critters move along.
Help! They have infiltrated our office!! They are working their way across the desks!
i got my sparkly new lap top 3 weeks ago then the tiny bug appeared. As previously mentioned it seemed to like living in the middle of the screen. I did not want to squish it and hope it would just go away when i turned my laptop off… but no, when i went to use it the next time it had died right in the middle. Not impressed. Any suggestions for bug removal?
I thought I found something unique when I discovered a little bug in my screen. I googled it and found out I wasn't.
I've got a 24" Samsung LCD monitor and of all the room it had to die it had to die right in the center of the screen!
This really spoils the joy of working on this screen.
I think I scared it tapping the screen, not it barely moves.
Same Problem Here. I have a Alienware m15x. under warranty. 6 months old. Dunno how to open the screen? Dunno idf the warranty will provide me of the repair.
FLICK THE SCREEN PEOPLE!
Just did that and the one that has been dead behind my screen for the last two weeks just dropped away. Nice.
Seriously, I love you!
A year or so I’ve had one of these f*ckers trapped behind my screen. Gave the back of the monitor a little whack and it fell down!!
i have four in the center of my new 22" lcd hdtv, it is very anoying when im on xbox. and because they are in a group its offputting when im aiming or something.
it sounds stupid, but somehow the little buggers (gotcha there!) stand out like a saw thumb + my brother has the same problem, but his have been in there since day 1, 4 years ago. maybe the gama melarcy stuff nucularly disindergrates the midge! i dont know but any way its anoying.
not as anoying as B.T broadband's super duper broadband service!
Had the problem twice with Dell Ultrasharp 1908FP (I live in the heart of East Anglia where fields of barley and wheat are only a short distance away so these bastards really do swarm in late July/ early August). First thing to do is switch the monitor off as soon as you see one. Whatever you do don't try to kill the thing or it will stay in there forever. Then place a hot, bright light close to the monitor and leave it on for a day or two. I used a photo lamp with a transparent white cloth over the front so it resembled a softbox. If you have a fan, point it at the monitor and leave it on while you wait. Thunderflies are attracted to heat and light, so the little so-and-so should be attracted out of the monitor, which is now relatively cool and dark.. Not much use if you need to work on the computer, but mine came out. Once the harvest is in they disappear.
I had two thunderbugs inside my 24" LCD monitor. This has happened before, and they usually disappear after a couple of days. However, these guys were inconvenient enough to die where they were. After reading some of the posts here, I tried simply gently tapping the screen just above where the bugs were resting in peace. They immediately dropped from the display area, and currently reside somewhere in the bottom casing where I assume they can do no damage.
Dell Inspiron 1525….i have now joined the 'bug club' also thought it was on the outside moved my finger across the screen and now its just in the middle DEAD! Warranty has ran out aswel so no luck getting it fixed for free. Why are these bugs finding there way into screens they have alot of outside space they shold just stick to!!
I am bloody outraged. This happened to my old Acer monitor and they wanted £40 to just LOOK at it whilst it was still under warranty. Now my new LG TV/Monitor has two of these dead bugs, and I did not squish them, but they have both died, one very near the centre and the second to the top right. I am not accepting this, its a design flaw, I want my money back or a replacement. Will be phoning Dixons tomorrow.
Well i just had one of those thunder fly bugs in my screen as well, and seems it died this evening, at least it was sitting still. So i knocked gently on the screen, and it fell down to the bottom, so now i cant see it anymore yay! So neeeever squash 'em! Just outlive 'em lol
Just joined the "bug club" today and yes, I squashed the little b*****d before i realised he was inside it.
2 month old laptop.
Fuming.
Going to ring round tomorrow for a price to clean it out, don`t fancy the DIY and it isn`t a warranty issue
as no-one has yet had any luck getting a mfr to replace cos of this issue.
i had one underneath my laptop screen (Acer). Thought it had died, so prodded it a bit and it started moving about again. Luckily it wandered off
Just used the suction cup method detailed above and it worked on my screen a treat. Had a dead thunderfly in the centre of the screen (23″ Samsung). Thanks all for the help
These bugs suck! They're in my monitor, my dads monitor, my LCD TV and in every picture in the house!!!
Grrrr my £3K CAD laptop has been invaded by them little pest;(
I've just got one of these "thunder-bugs!" in my screen and it's REALLY annoying that the stupid little thing sits there dead with no use at all! Of course I did try to flick the screen, but that never worked, so better not try that one again.
I've just got one of these "thunder-bugs!" in my screen and it's REALLY annoying that the stupid little thing sits there dead with no use at all! Of course I did try to flick the screen, but that never worked, so better not try that one again.
Unfortunately turning the laptop off and putting a light next to it never worked because it would have to be alive for that!
Looks like the only options open are to either crack the monitor open, throw the laptop out of the window and buy another one or just declare war on these bugs so they never have a chance to infect my screen again, but I think I'll go with DIY bug removal.
I'm glad that I'm sort of patient haha.
Gah… As we speak there is a thunderfly crawling over this blog. As a CAD draughtsman this is a major annoyance, you wouldn't believe the amount of times I have tried to delete/erase the dead one. Now I have to pray this new one doesn't die in the centre. I have tried disassembling the housing but the screen itself seems sealed (obviously not sealed enough!!). As I speak it has stopped moving in the bottom right of the screen. : (
Tried tapping the monitor………………. This didn't work. So I commenced whacking the monitor with my fist! …………… This also didn't work. I will try and find a suction cup.
Just got one in my Packard Bell screen, not cool. I squished it as well, gutted. Only had this laptop a couple of months.
LMAO were in our own club almost =]
and oh by the way, it's a dell inspiron so that seems to be a theme. Definitely no more Dells for me. This laptop has been a nightmare as well as dealing with Dell's customer support.
I squished what looked like a "red brick" bug inside my monitor- thought it was on the outside. Now I have a red splotch about as big as an "o" on my screen. Pretty pissed.
Really annoying, I wish monitor manufacturers would start sealing their screens properly.
UGH. I got one of these today. I had a new program running and I saw this little dot going around in circles so I thought it was some kinda animation in the background.
I then saw it move to other parts of the screen and I followed it around with my finger then I decided to squish it, thinking it was on top of the screen. UGH. Now I have two little red dots on my screen and though they are small It’s driving me nuts. This is a new screen! :-
If you get a Thunderbug – proper name "Thrip" in your monitor screen you will find that they crawl around for a while and then eventually die. Normally this happens in the most visible spot on the screen. They never fade away so they just stay there cocooned forever! The only way to remove them is to take apart the monitor front and blow them out with an air blaster. ( Not an easy task always )
These bugs live in wheat or grain crops and wait for warm weather to fly out in their droves – and I do mean droves, billions… So if you live next to fields of grain – look out, because from mid-June until August when the crops are harvested you will be deluged every warm, sunny day with these little blighters.
Modern farming entails spraying the crops on numerous occasions during the growing period. So why farmers can't use an insecticide while they are spraying to rid us of these bugs – I don't know. Perhaps it's not cost efficient. Whatever, the farming community could do everybody a massive favour and eradicate the Thunderbugs/Thrips to free us of this problem. But, will they? I doubt it, so I'm sorry you'll just have to put up with this scourge every year!
I've got 5 death thunderbugs in the middle of my lcd laptop…probably i'll have to open it, how long does it take for them to desitegrate?
How about reading the comments
?
is their any way to get them out.
I know this is an old thread too, but I just squashed sitting near the center of my screen. Normally, that would be bad news, but the bug was outside my screen, so now I can say for sure, that it's not going inside my lovely 26" Iiyama screen
I'm going to cover my screen with something for the night… I'm not taking any chances here!
Some days ago, I accidentally squashed on inside my old laptop. The laptop is 4-5 years old, so my warranty won't cover anything…
PS. Another one just landed on my screen! Please, thunderbugs, stop it! At least, they're not inside… yet!
my mum thought it was a computer virus until she squashed it !!
Thank god for this blog. Thought my little thunder bug was some ingenious virus that was designed to look like and act like a thunder bug. I sware it was following my mouse pointer. I was waiting for it to reach the delete all button, press it and with a crack of thunder all my files get deleted. But thankfully, this blog has put me right. I never even thought that a real thunder bug would be able to find away into the screen.
Now, how to get the dam thing out!
Adam,
I think it’s the same as my Dell studio 15. Look there should be two screws on the left and two on the right edge of the screen. If you remove them you can use a screwdriver or knife to prize the layers away from the screen.
Luke
Ok, yesterday i found a bug crawing in my monitor. i didnt know what it was till i squashed it.. now i have a black dot stuck in the middle!
It is a Samsung SyncMaster 226BW – I want to open it to clean out the insect now.
I have removed the back panel+front rim from the screen, but the LCD is clipped shit with an inner metal rim..
Please, does anyone have a Samsung syncmaster and knows how to access the inside of the screen – I would be VERY greatful.
- Adam
I've currently got 7 of them in my LCD. I've had them every summer for the last few years but have always got rid of them by leaving a portable TV on next to the monitor overnight and they've always gone. I've had my first one die today (I have 1 dead, 7 live currently). Going to have to open up the LCD
Thanks all previous commentors.
Sarcastic… this was funny.
Just open ur LCD panel and take it off!!
Thanks so much. Holding the lamp worked. I was so scared. We just got this 52 inch projection tv and a bug was flying inside it. I really am greatful for you tips. Of all day, Super Bowl Sunday and our first big screen tv You fixed our tv and our party. Thanks.
Ok I too thought it was on the outside of my screen and now it is dead in the right top corner, fortunately not the middle. There is another one running around. I will try the light thing when I am done for the night.
The worst part is I was eating fresh raspberries out of our garden that were rinsed. I didn’t finish all of them and set them on the table next to me. After seeing the bugs, I looked in the dish and sure enough they were in there. The bad part is I am not sure how many I ate!!! Yukkkkkk!
I had the same problem. 2 weeks ago, a tiny spider somehow crawled into my 22inch Samsung LCD Monitor. I left it alone for 2 days but apparently it died and I was left with a perfectly good, very expensive monitor with a glaring black blob in the middle of the screen. I tried to dislodge the dead bug by gently tapping the screen, to no avail. I even tried the suction cup suggestion — no luck there either.
I did not have the time or inclination to do an RMA request to Samsung (plus I could not find my receipt). I finally decided to open up my LCD monitor. I disassembled the sealed LCD unit and I found the dead bug lodged between the Polarizing filter and the LCD pad module. I used a cotton swab with 90% IPA to gently clean off the bug from the Polarizing filter and some bug residue on the LCD pad. I gave it sufficient time to dry and I reassembled the whole monitor, connected it to my PC and crossed my fingers… viola, good as new!
Disclaimer: Never disassemble an LCD product under any circumstances. If unqualified operators or users assemble the product after disassembling it, it may not function or its
operation may be seriously affected.
I’ve grown quite attached to the dead bug in my screen. Is this normal?
Heh, I have an ANT inside my Dell Vostro 1700 LCD screen. Luckily,it has died only like 100 pixels from the left side. The Dell repair guys tried to remove it, but failed… they have just cut it in two parts…. but its still in… meh
OK, two days ago I noticed a little black spot on my 42″ LG LCD TV. Of course I freaked, but then noticed it was some type of spider or gnat that made its way between the screen cover of the actual TV. Thanks to Pat(above post), I was able to get rid of it. Wait till it dies!(VERY IMPORTANT, or it will leave a permanent mark!) I used a small 2″ diameter suction cup, gently placed it over the area of bug, then gently pulled on it. At first it just kind of shook a little, but then when I removed the suction cup with my finger nail, the bug fell clearly out of site! No more bug! I can’t stress enough on how gentle you need to be with your screen! Do not put too much pressure on the screen, you can possibly leave a permanent discoloration on that area! Everyone, please try this option, it just might work! Thanks to this forum and Pat for the idea!
I know this is an old thread but I just had the same issue and I fixed it. First, I didn’t smash the bug. I went and got a suction cup off of a shower rack and stuck it to my LCD screen right over the bug. I gently pulled on the suction cup. It flexed the glass just enough that the bug fell straight down and out of sight. This was really frustrating since I just got this TV four days ago. Well anyway, I hope that I can help someone out with this tip. Good luck!!
they have just e-mailed me back now, and just said take the monitor to a computer reapir shop or the place where you bought it and they will fix it, but for a small fee, it may also take a fiew days for the shop to clean it.
I also have the same problem, i have a HP w2007v 20″ LCD screen. i have never had this problem before and i have had the screen for about 2 years in the same spot. iv just contacted hp, because i have a (HP w2007v) and they should be contacting me within 1 working day, so ill try and let yu all know how to clean it (if you have a hp w2007v).
I’ve had my Samsung 22″ for almost 2 years, but recently i got this bug. I suspect it happened, because of an old 19″ that used to be my grandpa and grandma’s. It had about 10 of these bugs, but yet i used it as my second monitor (i like having 2 monitors). 2 days after i got it, i spotted one in my 22″. I immedietly put a lamp to one of the corners of the screen, and got rid of the 19″.
I seriously recommend getting rid of monitors with these bugs, or atleast not getting them close to any pictures with frames, or other monitors. I believe my 22″ got “infected” because of the 19″, that already had these bugs.
Yeah, I have a Dell Inspiron 1525 and have a dead thunderfly in the middle of the goddam screen. I emailed Dell, they say its gonna be £220 to replace the screen. I am utterly RAGING! I cant believe it to be honest. But yeah, I guess I will end up paying for that cos i cant put up with it.
that should seriously not be 220 quid!!!
just dismantle the monitor yourself and remoove them!
or wven better- put a mark on your screen so you know its yours- send the screen off to get repaired and if you still have that mark on your screen complain to them that they didnt replace it like they said they would and get it done again free!
also i have 11!! bugs in my screen, luckily its a hell of a crappy screen (hp pavilion f1703)
it dosent realy bothem me tho because that is my sdecondary monitor that i watch dvd's on while playng gmod =P
Just squished my bug as i thought it was a software bug (or virus).
It’s dead in the middle of my screen.
I’ll buy me a new one tomorrow, since this one is almost 5 years old, it’s definitely time to debug it
Thank you for keeping comments on this blog entry open. Hopefully some of the advice here will be useful to me. I took my old laptop out of the bag this morning to see a bug crawling around in there. I’ve turned it off, covered it up apart from a corner and put a lamp nearby to see if that tempts it out.
I don’t really want to do surgery on the screen, if it dies in there I guess I will try that. Annoying though, I use that laptop daily and can’t justify a replacement right now… even if it were to die in a stupid place.
Totally feel for you Jack. Was so chuffed to replace my dead bug filled 19″ with a 24″, but within a couple of months created a new cemetry. Definitely best advice is to switch off and leave a light on nearby as soon as you spot one.
i have one inside my tamagotchi
right now i’m treating it as a special bonus virtual pet, but pretty soon the novelty will wear off
i find that gentle/violent tapping in the centre of the screen can coax it off the edge so that it’s less of a nuisance
we also had a few in our computer monitor, but we just left them for a few days and they disappeared. i suppose we got lucky?
From Dell: “I apologize for the inconvenience. Bugs can appear on the LCD panel in the gap between the LCD and the backlight. These insects are a common problem with modern LCD panels, monitors, and TVs, where they are attracted by the light. The ability of these insects to enter the LCD panel does not represent a panel manufacturing defect. This issue is not covered under the warranty of your system.”
Not a manufacturing defect??? Obviously! It’s a design defect!!!
I guess what they say is true. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.
I too got a bug in my LCD screen (on a laptop). I didn’t squish him but he stopped moving, so he is either taking a rest or died. I sent an e-mail to Dell tech support, so I’ll see what they recommend.
Hello guys
I have had the same problem and I googled this blog. After some reading I decided to clean my LCD monitor myself.
What you need is:
1) screwdriver
2) air duster (compressed air)
Estimated time 15-60min (depending on your technical skills)
You have to disassemble the cover of your LCD (be carefull to not to brake it), then you will find some screws under it. I think every LCD looks different inside so I can’t give you detailed manual, but you have to get under the LCD glass (there is a white background under it (I didn’t touche it so I do not know what is it made of, but it is not important).You have to use air duster and clean all the insects from the glass and white background. Then just assemble everything as it was at the beginning.
Voila, no more bugs
rofl, I cant belive my luck!!
I replaced my 19″ HD monitor with a 24″ monitor the other day, and already two bugs are under it, i havent even taken the plastic cover of the screen..
£200 down the drain, ill have to but another now. for fucks sake i hate summer.
hi. i got same problem. just a few mins ago it was crawling around when my temper gt the better of mee. only had the laptop since 21st june 09. its now dead in the middle of the screen. im thinking of phonin acer. do u reakon they will cover this? its still under warranty.
cheers
harvie
Please help same thing bug on screen found this blog through google. My screen isn’t yet one year old and i bought it from amazon.
If anyone is reading this can they tell me will i get a full refund for the screen from amazon as the screen is withing warantee and bought directly from Amazon
Please help i don’t really know wot else to do coz the bugs have died inside my screen!!!
Thank You
I started out with one thunderbug about 3 days ago crawling around I have now got 5 crawling under the screen. They have appeared without the monitor being on so I cant see where light heat etc will attract them out. Guys at computer store said put a vacuum over any vents but I have no vents on the screen. HELP!!!!
hay zoe,
i called the company where i baught mine,
they say that you have to buy a new monitor -.- i can’t believe this !!!:O
AAAARGH
if i had spend a little bit more on the warenty, there would be no problem
but no i will be stucked with a dead little flie pet thingy in the middle of my screen
poor bug its just lyieng there … waiting to rot away
( that sounds nasty xD )
GOODLUCK EVERYBODY WITH THOSE STUPID LITTLE BUGS -.-
btw,those bugs eats plastic, thats what they told me :S
Eurghhh! stupid stupid thing. i saw it flutter its wings so it must have a decent amount of living space.
its walking against the ‘wood’ pannelling on the background on here.
do you think it is this fabulous british weather we’re having that has caused this.
God it is so annoying.
i’m gonna try the light trick, but my screen isn’t likely to get much colder due to the weather.
i’ll be soo annoyed if it stays in the middle of my screen
leave a comment if you get much luck.
i’ll let you know if my method works.
x
I got one today, but i didnt squash it…instead it crawled to the center and died.
My laptops only a month old, its really annoying.
My mum told me to send the laptop back haha, do you think itll work?
i’ve accidently squashes one on my mums laptop, shes only had it two weeks too
its a lcd screen, if she took it back to the shop could they remove it? please help.. shes gonna be really mad at me 
Thought i would squish one, thinking it wasn’t real and now it is dead, just lyeing there!!!
If I weren’t a buddhist this would really irritate me, I have a thunderfly in my screen now too! This is the downside to british weather being good for a change. I kinda accidently squished it so do you think this sort of thing would be covered under my computer’s warrenty?
Cheers.
P.s. Please nobody else squish them, I’d hate for anyone else to have to deal with this.
hi guys,
just thought i’d let you know that if you have squashed one of these bugs onto your screen, it doesn’t go away. on my old monitor, i made the same mistake and it was there for years. DO NO take the risk, it’s sooo annoying.
secondly, the bug is not inside your monitor, it is simply behind the glass. you can remove this with some suction pads that stick to your screen and remove the safety glass. you can then easily take away the bug. this can be done simply, but would definately be considered the last option.
another way to do this is just to be patient and wait it out. these ‘thunderbugs’ as they are known, do not live forever. try to not use your computer for a few days, and the lack of heat and light radiated from the screen will kill/make the bug go away. cold and dark are definately 2 things it doesn’t like. you just have to hope it doesn’t die slap bang in the middle, else the suction pads are definately the option for you.
i recommend the suction pads also to people who have squashed them and want to remove debris. if you don’t want to do this yourself, send your monitor away to be cleaned and explain your problem to the IT staff. it sounds ridiculous, but they’ve seen it so many times before it’s almost routine.
before you do anything, just wait a few days. then if it doesn’t work, i’ve given a few other methods.
hope this helps.
regards.
ps: i’m watching a thunderbug right now under the glass on my screen, and am playing the waiting game. it truly is so frustrating when they get in the way of your typing and you make mistakes! ARGH!
same problem here, and the “Turn off screen, put lamp near screen, turn on lamp and wait an hour or two” advice did the trick here (plus huge amounts of insecticide in the whole room as soon as the bug got out of the screen)
I think that turning off the screen ASAP is the key here, otherwise the bug is happy in an environment full of light and heat. Thanks Nathan for sharing your experience!
Thought I’d leave my comment here.
I had an insect inside my new LCD screen yesterday. I decided against squishing it, and turned the monitor off. Came back on this morning, and so far there is no sign of the bug. Hopefully it left when there was no longer any light source.
However, it did leave waste in a couple parts of the screen. I expect that to melt/disintegrate over time.
Good luck to everyone having the problem.
I have a small spider (now a bloody dot) inside my screen and there was another spider (live) in there earlier. Is there anyway to get rid of either of them or both, cause that would be awesome!
i have one right now……… it is SOOOOOO tiny!
i hv the same problem!! i was so freaked out when i saw it moving! its about the size of a ‘ and its so damn annoying:(
I had the very same a while ago with a thunder fly. Damn thing crawled around for a while (which was quite cute) but then it DIED on my screen. So i keep thinking it’s an ” ‘ ” or a ” , ” depending on the text i’m reading! axtually the comma looks very much like it, right angle as well!
Did consider ringing IT helpdesk to say there was a “bug” in my pc. See what they say
hehe
I am considering the gentle scratching thing now though.
ta x
can bestbuy fix this?
I Recently got 2 bugs in my screen it was really annoying. At first i thought they were just crawing around across the screen so squished them ! Big mistake. But luckly I had the a brilliant idea… I scratch the screen gently with my nail and the bug started to fad i scrathed some more and hay presto they somehow fadded into the screen. So Far i havent noticed any damage by me scratching the screen… Sorry if you try this and do make damage to your screen. Remember scratch gently. Emiily x
I got a little fruit fly in my laptop screen. He managed to crawl to the middle of the screen and die. Brand new computer, too. Wonder if BestBuy can “repair” this…
Hi all.
So, I have this problem too, you see.
I haven’t tried to do anything to get rid of it, other than squish it. But I can’t :p
I’ll try the “Turn off screen, put lamp near screen, turn on lamp and wait an hour or two”.
Seems very logic to me.
Maybe I’ll post here if it works or not
- Regards, Rasmus
I have about 20 crawling around on my screen……any way to get rid of these things??
i have like 6 dead bugs inside my screen.
i hate insects.
i never seen this untill i squished mine and then i realised it would stay there so i searched bug inside screen XD
Nggghhhhhhhhhhhh this is so annoying
a pet storm fly is not what I wanted
I just squished the bug in mine! … is there anyway at all that i can get it out..?
If not. Do you think it will rot away?
If it will rot how long?
?!
I realize this is an old blog, but since it is the first result that comes up when you google "bug inside screen" I thought I'd post my experience and the solution I thought of.
Obviously I was having the same problem, at first I just waited and waited for the bug to go out of the screen, like cross the border where he would leave the actual screen and then I would try to press the side of the screen to squash it while it's not anywhere important, but the damn bug kept turning round when he came close to the edge.
So I after reading about a poster on this blog saying "the bug is prolly attracted to the light/heat" I thought of the following;
Turn off your screen, take a lamp that you can hang over your screen (preferrably one that's quite bright), turn it on and hang it like 2 cm's above your screen.. my theory was that the bug would see bright light coming from the top of the screen and/or feel that the top was warmer..
And it worked! After about an hour I turned on my laptop.. and voila.. no more bug..
Worked like a charm! I just turned the monitor off, held a couple of lights near the edge and as you promised, voila, no more bug! I also took a little anitbacterial scent and rubbed that along the top of the monitor hoping it wouldn't like the smell. Your light technique didn't take too long, just about 10 minutes. We'll see if it returns. Thanks for the tip!!!
Maggie
I tried it too–worked without a hitch! I rigged a flashlight to point at a seam in the plastic, hoping that would provide a good exit strategy for the little guy. Thanks for the tip, Nathan.
yeah…I tried to squish mine and figured i’d suffer the mark….apparently mine refuses to be squished and its driving me insane. I’m tempted to keep trying but i’m hoping it’ll go away. For now I named it buggy b/c it’s driving me buggy and my best friend suggested the name after I said I was thinking of naming it…
I’ve had a lot of hits on this page recently so I wanted to update everyone for the benefit of people who are finding this entry in Google. Don’t squish the bug or do anything or you’ll get it stuck. Put up with it. It should just magically disappear within two or three days. I continued using my monitor when there was a bug inside it and there were no problems.
Hi, im watching a thunderfly in my monitor this very second hahaha. I also went to rub the mark off, though DOH my lil cousins knocked my monitor and made a mark, then i opened up the screen on msn to tell my gf, to find it crawling over the grass on my background(well not like it knew it was grass, then it was all over her chat box.
Right now im trying to tap above it to make it walk off itself, but not having much luck, it is running in circles around the status bar.
HAHAHA insane little thing, how did it get its way all the way in there.
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Thanks Ollie – I haven’t squished it. I’m hoping it’ll fall off. I turned it on the next morning and it’s still there, alive and kicking. I’ve looked around some of the photo frames in this room and it seems like they all have a couple of thunderfly insects inside them.
I had one in a laptop at work, I thought it was on the top of the screen so i squashed it, then i realised it was inside the screen. So I know have a permanent black mark in the screen!
Yeah, I’ve had a few whilst I had my PC set up near to our back door in the summer. I made the terrible mistake of squishing them on a few occasions which made them stick to the monitor. I tried to take apart the monitor to get it out, but no luck. So since I’ve relocated my PC and got a different monitor… next time I have a bug, I’ll just remember to leave it and hope it goes away!
They’re obviously attracted to the light / warmth or something.
Put your monitor in a dark room( switched off) and leave a bedside lamp (switched on) next to it pointing downwards. They soon leave your monitor, unless you squashed them already.
so how did you get the squished ones out? i got on thts squished! *sigh*
Yep it is July and I have about 7 insects behind my Mitsubishi DLP TV. Going to give them a few days and see if they will just leave. If not I will have to figure out how to take screen off and remove insects manually