# There's a bug inside my monitor. Seen that before? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 22, 2018, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556 "2018-06-22T03:38:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/1 "2018-06-22T03:38:32Z")
It’s very small like a gnat. and it’s crawling behind the clear plate in front of my view and disappearing for a while. I pressed up against it and it didn’t show any pressure on the bug. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/2 "2018-06-22T03:53:29Z")
Yep, seen it before. You better hope he finds his way back out again. It’s entirely possible for him to die stuck in a visible place on the monitor, and you might not be able to easily get him out at that point. Don’t squish him, or then he’ll be even harder to get out. Some monitors have screws hidden under removable covers around the outside of the screen, so you can remove the glass (it’s actually probably plastic). If all else fails, sometimes you can stick a suction cup on the screen and pull it out just enough to work him loose after he dies, and then you can shake the monitor to get him down out of sight. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/3 "2018-06-22T05:32:01Z")
I’ve seen it. Little bastards. You can try shaking him down now and see if he’ll stay down if you knock him loose. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/4 "2018-06-22T05:35:09Z")
I had roaches living in my pc speakers before. Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/5 "2018-06-22T10:10:05Z")
Had that happen before (the screen bug, not the speaker roaches.) [Don’t press it](https://kotaku.com/i-squished-a-bug-inside-my-monitors-screen-and-now-i-wa-1796152848). ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/6 "2018-06-22T17:01:53Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > I had roaches living in my pc speakers before. Does that count? Yes you are an honorary sufferer. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/7 "2018-06-22T17:04:57Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Yep, seen it before. > > You better hope he finds his way back out again. It’s entirely possible for him to die stuck in a visible place on the monitor, and you might not be able to easily get him out at that point. > > Don’t squish him, or then he’ll be even harder to get out. > > Some monitors have screws hidden under removable covers around the outside of the screen, so you can remove the glass (it’s actually probably plastic). If all else fails, sometimes you can stick a suction cup on the screen and pull it out just enough to work him loose after he dies, and then you can shake the monitor to get him down out of sight. What is the environment he is crawling in when you see him? He seems to have room, and it doesn’t look like hes swimming or drowning. Is there air between the surface and the picture screen? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/8 "2018-06-22T17:41:30Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > What is the environment he is crawling in when you see him? He seems to have room, and it doesn’t look like hes swimming or drowning. Is there air between the surface and the picture screen? Yep, it’s just an air gap behind the screen’s protective outer layer. Some monitors have resin instead of an air gap, but I don’t think this is very common. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/9 "2018-06-22T18:50:11Z")
Are you sure it’s not a virus? ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/10 "2018-06-22T19:08:24Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Are you sure it’s not a virus? A virus, no way it’s a webcrawler. 😃 I’m not a computer guy, so I never get to say this… “It’s a bug, not a feature”:p:D ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/11 "2018-06-22T21:45:25Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Are you sure it’s not a virus? I swear at first I thought it might be russians, but if you switch to another screen and they don’t change it’s analog. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2018, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/12 "2018-06-22T21:55:42Z")
Shove a spider under the screen to eat the fly. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/13 "2018-06-23T06:27:41Z")
Compressed air in a small crevice, see if that coaxes him to move. Just don’t spray it upside down. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/14 "2018-06-23T07:54:34Z")
I’ve seen it on older monitors where there was an air gap between the display and the front glass or plastic. More modern monitors don’t tend to have that gap at all - the best-looking displays use something called ‘on-cell’ or ‘one glass’ construction, where the display is built backwards in layers from the front glass, rather than the front glass being added as an afterthought. What I’m saying is… maybe this is the perfect excuse to treat yourself to a lovely new monitor. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/15 "2018-06-23T07:55:36Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Shove a spider under the screen to eat the fly. I knew an old lady who tried something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Archeonomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Archeonomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archeonomist)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/16 "2018-06-23T12:07:29Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I knew an old lady who tried something like that. Did she die? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/17 "2018-06-23T12:17:27Z")
> [@Archeonomist](#): > > Did she die? Not initially ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/18 "2018-06-23T12:19:07Z")
At least gnats are understandable. I have a dead blade of grass that sits behind the glass of my speedometer display. Been sitting there for years. No idea how it got there. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/19 "2018-06-23T15:49:46Z")
Abandoned hummingbird nest? ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2018, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556/20 "2018-06-23T16:24:37Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I’ve seen it on older monitors where there was an air gap between the display and the front glass or plastic. More modern monitors don’t tend to have that gap at all - the best-looking displays use something called ‘on-cell’ or ‘one glass’ construction, where the display is built backwards in layers from the front glass, rather than the front glass being added as an afterthought. > > What I’m saying is… maybe this is the perfect excuse to treat yourself to a lovely new monitor. I feel like I just got it. I think the air gap is there in newer ones too. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-bug-inside-my-monitor-seen-that-before/816556.md?page=2)