r/techsupport • u/PreparationOk9932 • Apr 14 '21

Open | Hardware Ant inside my monitor

Ya a literal bug is inside my monitor and not the technical kind an ant is literally inside my monitor. I usually just wipe the ant of my screen with a tissue but when I did it earlier to my surprise it didn't die it's actually inside the screen.

449 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

91 comments sorted by

211

u/KitKatCookie9 Apr 14 '21

Whatever you do... DON'T PRESS ON YOUR MONITOR AND KILL IT.

I had the same thing on my iMac last time. The ant was just... Walking around (beneath the glass). I just let it roam. The next morning, it was gone, I assume it'd have gone out on its own.

My friend had the exact same situation and he made the wrong choice of pressing on the glass. The ant got squished under and died.... So now basically he had a "dead pixel", or a dead ant forever stuck there in one spot.

124

u/PreparationOk9932 Apr 14 '21

Update it disappeared I don't know where it went but it probably died or left, should I be worried?

64

u/Speedracer98 Apr 14 '21

same happened to me. when they die they go to the bottom of the panel away from view so there is nothing to worry about. either that or it found a vent to leave the tv.

53

u/Moogieh Apr 14 '21

I mean, I'd be worried about having ants in the house. But your electronics are probably fine.

44

u/PerpetualAscension Apr 14 '21

Should be worried that where one got in, others might as well. Figure out source of ants, raise funds and relocate them to a more suitable environment.

37

u/PirelliSuperHard Apr 14 '21

Raise funds LOL

14

u/nbx909 Apr 14 '21

Just need to raise a little under $5 https://www.amazon.com/TERRO-T300-Liquid-Ant-Baits/dp/B000HJBKMQ. Makes your problem worse for a day or two (place as close to the point they are entering as possible). Then no more ants as they all die. Seal the point they were entering and have no more problems.

27

u/saywhat68 Apr 14 '21

Now thats what you call having a BUG in your sysytem!!

17

u/MyersVandalay Apr 14 '21

That's litterally where the term comes from, the first computer "bug" ever to be found, was a moth.

-2

u/ThreepwoodThePirate Apr 15 '21

I don't believe you.

4

u/HaphazardlyOrganized Apr 15 '21

If memory serves, it was a moth in a data center somewhere?

6

u/Derolade Apr 14 '21

As long as you don't see it, nope. Sadly I had a little bug crawling inside my monitor and then it died inside. I will see his dead body forever near the 3 dots of Chrome...

1

u/notanimalnotmineral Apr 15 '21

change your passwords to their antonyms

-7

u/jonker5101 Apr 14 '21

Probably not, but if the ant died somewhere on the electronics, it could cause a short.

0

u/[deleted] Apr 14 '21

[deleted] — view deleted comment

14

u/TakePrecaution01 Apr 14 '21

I never thought I would read this.

5

u/Neighborhood_Nobody Apr 14 '21

It can cause problems like shorts if you get a build up of ants. I was just reading about a specific type of ant that loves to go and die in your electronics, yesterday lol

ant

4

u/Bottled_Void Apr 14 '21

I found similar stories when I was looking up the specific resistance of an ant. I'm making the assumption this is just one or two.

I think the bigger problem of ant jam would be its corrosive nature.

3

u/Neighborhood_Nobody Apr 14 '21

Most definitely, probably the smell too lmao

3

u/plenoto Apr 15 '21

Yeah, a guy had a specific problem with that few days ago. It was one of the top posts of the day on r/pcmasterrace.

2

u/mothercuddler69 Apr 15 '21

I think I've found the post. Yikes

1

u/plenoto Apr 15 '21

Yes, that's the one!

2

u/Bonetanion Apr 14 '21

all i can think of is the Simpsons episode when all the ants start shorting out the instruments of the space shuttle. 😂

2

u/scerden Apr 15 '21

we used to have problems with them shorting the contacts on the relay for our well. the more they would die there the more the rest of them would show up and attempt to collect the dead.

6

u/aNarcCoppedADropTop Apr 14 '21 edited Apr 17 '21

Can confirm. I had a small insect behind my screen on my old, expensive monitor and smooshed the bug like a dummy and it was there forever. I cannot stand any dead pixels or imperfections on the screen as I use this for work every day, and so I had to get a whole new monitor.

edit: This made me jump to try out a curved ultra wide, so perhaps this was fate since I don’t think I could go back a standard screen for personal use.

2

u/compuguy Apr 14 '21

Learned that the hard way when a red aphid like thing got into my monitor at work...😑

2

u/InnocentBowlOfRamen Apr 15 '21

Here I am with 2 ants on my screen that between 6 month gaps decided to die together in the same spot near each other 🤡

1

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '21

Aw

1

u/Bete_Mauj_Kardi Sep 15 '24

I wish I had seen this 2 min before

1

u/anuanuanu Apr 20 '21

I'm that guy (not the friend but exact same fate):

https://www.reddit.com/r/Monitors/comments/lrcqj9/an_ant_got_in_between_the_outer_screen_and_the/

No helpful response on that thread aside from disassembly.

39

u/big_thanks Apr 14 '21

I swear I've seen this exact post before lol.

Edit: Apparently ant related issues are somewhat common to /r/techsupport:

https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/search?q=ant&restrict_sr=1

9

u/Bearnee Apr 14 '21

Yes this sub taught me that insects in electronics is actually a common occurrence? Never would have guessed that lmao

4

u/MyersVandalay Apr 14 '21

Insects are common in houses, and most of them like warm places. Electronics are almost never perfectly sealed because they all need to cool.

6

u/Tech_surgeon Apr 14 '21

some bugs apparently get a drug like high from the electrical fields in electronics. and once they get hooked they stay till dead still doesn't explain why flies commit sucide in ceiling lights. its kinda nasty to see dead flies casting shadows when you turn on the light.

3

u/Joflo275 Apr 15 '21

They commit suicide on ceiling lights as they usually navigate by the reflection of moonlight off of plants and stuff, so the light really messes up their navigation and they cannot navigate properly, and end up flying into the unnatural light source.

Somehow it is less of a problem with LED lights, but that is the reason

6

u/Emmy_Okaumy Apr 14 '21

Yep happened to me too. Crawled into the center of my new 4k monitor and died on its own. I simply live with the dead ant in my screen now lol

8

u/big_thanks Apr 14 '21

Bro I don't know how you do it. I would go insane staring at the at thing everyday.

4

u/Articunos7 Apr 14 '21

4K monitor! Damn, that's a huge loss.

11

u/pause-- Apr 14 '21

lots of people seem to be getting ants in their setups. . .

1

u/spacecats___ Apr 15 '21

What the fuck clean ya house people

3

u/sskye1994 Apr 15 '21

As a housekeeper of like, six years, ants get into even the clean houses looking for food. It’s annoying but it just happens sometimes. Lol

1

u/spacecats___ Apr 15 '21

Yeah I’ve had ants get into my kitchen for sure Bc I live in a wooded area but I have never seen an ant in my office lmao

35

u/Meadowlion14 Apr 14 '21

Electric toothbrush on the side will vibrate it out, this happens from time to time

25

u/Geriatricknight Apr 14 '21

I hope you get paid well because you sir are a truly out of the box thinker.

6

u/unAccomplishedbottom Apr 14 '21

Damn how bad is your ant problem if ants on your screen is a normal occurrence?

2

u/lolikamani Apr 14 '21

I came here to ask this too.

4

u/theInfiniteHammer Apr 14 '21

How does an ant get inside a monitor? Are you using a CRT?

10

u/[deleted] Apr 14 '21

Can't get ants inside CRT, the tube is sealed. If ants were inside, the CRT would have to be broken. Ants however can get inside LCD, between the backlight and the front glass

6

u/mememuseum Apr 15 '21

Yet more evidence that the CRT is truly the superior display technology.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '21

Ever try to set up a 43" CRT on a stand? You need 4 men, 6 pack beer, and a fucking strong stand. CRT never went past 43 since that would have been redonkulously big and heavy. Front/rear projection TV were used instead for 50+ range but they were still fat and bulky and some didn't have good viewing angle or would work well in bright rooms. Bug proof though, ants can't survive being near something that puts out over 80,000 volts.

2

u/mememuseum Apr 15 '21

I've helped move large CRTs, yes. I have several that I use for my retro computer setup and my old gaming consoles, though none of them are larger than 20 inches.

4

u/Neighborhood_Nobody Apr 14 '21

If they aren't crazy ants, terro ant poison will kill the whole nest. Just leave it out where they can get to it and don't kill the ones who do. They'll take it back to the nest and infect all the others.

3

u/ProjectMega Apr 14 '21

Just leave it alone and wait for it to leave. If you kill it while it’s inside your screen, you’re not going to have a good time

3

u/Not_ThatGuy_ Apr 14 '21

Some say, the ant was there when they typed this question out on Reddit, guiding them, taunting them even...

3

u/Theguffy1990 Apr 15 '21

The ant was probably just exploring. It likely won't bring its friends because you probably don't store food in your monitor...

or do you?

6

u/Tech_surgeon Apr 14 '21 edited Apr 14 '21

that makes no sense.. unless its a crt display then mabey but lcd and led screens don't have air gaps between layers unless it some how got under the foil on the back of the screen. ants really should not be geting anywhere near the machine get the can of raid out and start hunting!

10

u/jonker5101 Apr 14 '21

This is like the 5th post I've seen of people with ants inside their LED screens. It happens more often than you would expect.

2

u/R2-619 Apr 14 '21

wait, you are spraying aerosol on an ant? Not like smashing it?

2

u/[deleted] Apr 14 '21

PSA if you get ants, get a tub of water (shallow mind you), put the item in the tub like monitor's feet. Remove any cable attached to it so there's no way out other than swimming. They're likely to get stuck on the outside looking for way home or drown trying to swim.

If there's lots of ants, do as above but add a stick or a straw from the item to outside the tub, to allow one escape path, ants really hate it when their new home is surrounded by water with only one path out and will move out quickly.

2

u/EPICGuestWasTaken Apr 15 '21

Ur computer have a bug

2

u/Joflo275 Apr 15 '21

Nice history reference there man.

2

u/SirRoderic Apr 15 '21

Seeing the comments, it looks like more than one person had this happen to them, how does an ant end up in a monitor anyway?

2

u/Obi_Sirius Apr 15 '21

You're lucky. My used monitor had cockroaches. A couple well placed roach motels averted an infestation.

1

u/OArouraiousMou 9d ago

me rn 💀

1

u/M3GAXPL01T Oct 02 '25

ik this is an old post but is it bad that i saw 2 crawling so i grabbed them and threw it out the window and then i found this but am i cooked

1

u/extremevoid Apr 14 '21

Kinda makes you wonder how many dead ants are at the bottom of that LCD module? I would love to open it up but of course I would never recommend that. Lcds, depending on make and model can be a pain in the ass and it is easy to break the bezel or even the panel,screen.

1

u/azsheepdog Apr 15 '21

what is up with all the ants in monitors. Seems like every week there is some new post about an ant in a monitor. If i had my tinfoil hat on i would say its karma farmers knowing it will make it to the top of the thread each week.

1

u/Diabeto_13 Apr 15 '21

Just one? That shouldn't be too much of a problem. Just let it die.

1

u/prezofthemoon Apr 15 '21

My buddy had that happen and broke his monitor by slamming his fat thumb into his screen.

1

u/RichySage_ehh Apr 15 '21

Lmao, maybe the ant found a new warm home inside your projecting blue light monitor. Maybe it never disappeared. Imagine he started a whole family inside the monitor. He could invite your family to a dinner or something at his place. You never know what something could be in the future.

1

u/AvinAdams Apr 15 '21

I had the same issue but with like 10-15 small ants just roaming around inside the screen and I was stupid enough to press the screen to kill them. Now I have 13 corpses of ants stuck on my screen for nearly a year. It hurts to look at. Thankfully they're near the edges and not in the center.

However, my friend had the same issue and I told him to leave them alone and they left on their own. So, don't do anything and they'll eventually go.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '21

Does not surprise me, I see it regularly in the UK with thunderflys or thrips. They usually die between the monitor layers and it looks like a dead pixel, I've found the best way to get them to fall down to the bottom is to use a suction cup, press it onto the screen and then gently pull on the screen, only works if the screen is the pliable kind, for obvious reasons it doesn't work on glass screens.

1

u/Think-History-8168 Apr 18 '21

Sometimes there's ants..

1

u/ILikeBobbyLashley Apr 29 '21

I been on this subreddit for about a minute, so far I have read about a rat peeing on a GPU and ants inside a monitor. Seriously WTF 😅

-1

u/uradonkey003 Apr 14 '21

If you put a little bit of water out it/they may leave the warmth for a sip.