Those of you who know what those darn bugs are probably just got a faster heartbeat just thinking about those beasts.
For those of you who are in this time and age still able to feel empathy for unknown others: it seems I got rid of them as I don't see anything at the moment. But I'm still expecting to see it again.
Thrips are small little beasts (up to 3 mm long) that like this kind of warm weather and come in thousands. There are several kinds of them, some are pests, that can harm plants like tomatoes because they carry all kinds of plant diseases. Sometimes they bite humans without doing more harm than some skin irritation. To us they are harmless, but not to computer monitors. Those beasts are able to get into the display, between 'glass' and LCD. So you see them on your screen behind the glass.
Because of the heat we had all windows wide open yesterday. I found some thunderbugs in the gardines. I closed the windows, killed everything I found on the gardines, put on some stuff against insects (such things you put into electrical sockets that gives away some poison. Shouldn't be harmful to humans or pets, but to be honest, I'm not so sure about that. But in such cases I don't shy away from biological or chemical war). I put out the light in the office and waited.
A few hours later I thought it should be safe to return to the office, did a small test with modeling (to find a way to get a certain model), wrote something in this forum and ... yes, there was one crawling on my computer. I tried to wish it away, but it was in the display. First time in 17 years of tft-usage. (actually they shouldn't be able to get in, but if you have bad luck ...). If you see something like that on the screen, kill it and turn off your monitor asap.
You should never ever press on the screen, especially if something is moving on it. If it's inside and you squash it, the thip-slush will stay in it. Visible. This can be distracting (ok, probably less disctracting than if something is moving, but at least then you have a chance). If they are alive they could with a bit of luck leave your computer again.
Anything else I didn't know. I looked later on in the net and at least in German didn't find exactly the same what I did. As it seams, it had helped (you should get out those bugs as fast as possible before they have time to smear the display somehow or just simple die on you). So I thought I'd report it here if somebody else had the same problem.
I decided to put the iMac to sleep and getting a flashlight that I used to light the downside of the screen, having a bit of light on the silver part, before putting out the light in the room and having a mild heart attack. I turned off that insecticide thingy as I wanted the culprit very much alive. After a quarter of an hour I found a thrip on the lighted silver part, squashed it with glee (using toiletpaper).
I'm not sure if it was the one inside the monitor but it seemed to have the same size around 2 mm. Could have been a coincidence. I tested the screen, didn't find anything, praised my luck ... and had a thrip wandering inside my display. This time it was 3mm. Of course, it could have been my error, and still the same bug, but I think it was a second one. Because I wasn't sure I tried the same procedure, without any lights in the room than the flashlight and a closed door.
A quarter of an hour later I had a thrip with the right size on the same spot in the light, killed it with even more glee (and another toilet paper), tested the screen for a very short time. Open photoshop, new image, white background, a few 100 % size, full window. Nothing.
I sent the mac to sleep, let the flashlight burn, turned on the 'insect stop' (those little darlings could be immune, though), let the door open this time, turned on the light before the door and looked on my Ipad in the internet what one has to do in such a case.
At least in German I didn't read anywhere that you should turn off the monitor. They often recommend to put a light next to the screen and then waiting till those bugs find the way out of the monitor to the light source, somtimes you should put such a lamp under the monitor or whatever (which doesn't seem to be a good idea, the lamps often get hot after awhile and should stay in a vertical position). Some did quite complicated things.
All day through, though, I only used the iMac for checking mails (and looking for bugs with my white picture) and let the 'insect stop' running.
Maybe I just had pure luck but to me it seems a good method to get rid off those beasts very fast. (and now I got almost a heart attack because I saw a very small black spot ... it was part of a letter. Huh).
Anyway, I'm still scanning for those things. The real problem is, those thrips belong to the very few species that still thrive. The biomass of insects went down rapidly in the last years (at least I read that). It's not only the bees that are dying. Only the pests are doing well, except the cockroaches who are the one species that seem to be the exception to Helmut's 'night stand'-theory. The future belongs to them. They are very, very old and probably will stay around til our sun dies. The thrips probably will not live that long, but will be more and more a problem in the next years (not for computer monitors only).
Sorry about the longish post but maybe it helps someone.
Some negative aspects: I'm steadily scanning my screen for moving or unusual spots. It's darn hot in here at the moment. I probably got a few white hairs.
May the gods save you from thrips
Hasdrubal
Positive Side: In the last two hours nothing was seen. I really had a lot of luck (even I did the right things. You still need luck).
For those of you who are in this time and age still able to feel empathy for unknown others: it seems I got rid of them as I don't see anything at the moment. But I'm still expecting to see it again.
Thrips are small little beasts (up to 3 mm long) that like this kind of warm weather and come in thousands. There are several kinds of them, some are pests, that can harm plants like tomatoes because they carry all kinds of plant diseases. Sometimes they bite humans without doing more harm than some skin irritation. To us they are harmless, but not to computer monitors. Those beasts are able to get into the display, between 'glass' and LCD. So you see them on your screen behind the glass.
Because of the heat we had all windows wide open yesterday. I found some thunderbugs in the gardines. I closed the windows, killed everything I found on the gardines, put on some stuff against insects (such things you put into electrical sockets that gives away some poison. Shouldn't be harmful to humans or pets, but to be honest, I'm not so sure about that. But in such cases I don't shy away from biological or chemical war). I put out the light in the office and waited.
A few hours later I thought it should be safe to return to the office, did a small test with modeling (to find a way to get a certain model), wrote something in this forum and ... yes, there was one crawling on my computer. I tried to wish it away, but it was in the display. First time in 17 years of tft-usage. (actually they shouldn't be able to get in, but if you have bad luck ...). If you see something like that on the screen, kill it and turn off your monitor asap.
You should never ever press on the screen, especially if something is moving on it. If it's inside and you squash it, the thip-slush will stay in it. Visible. This can be distracting (ok, probably less disctracting than if something is moving, but at least then you have a chance). If they are alive they could with a bit of luck leave your computer again.
Anything else I didn't know. I looked later on in the net and at least in German didn't find exactly the same what I did. As it seams, it had helped (you should get out those bugs as fast as possible before they have time to smear the display somehow or just simple die on you). So I thought I'd report it here if somebody else had the same problem.
I decided to put the iMac to sleep and getting a flashlight that I used to light the downside of the screen, having a bit of light on the silver part, before putting out the light in the room and having a mild heart attack. I turned off that insecticide thingy as I wanted the culprit very much alive. After a quarter of an hour I found a thrip on the lighted silver part, squashed it with glee (using toiletpaper).
I'm not sure if it was the one inside the monitor but it seemed to have the same size around 2 mm. Could have been a coincidence. I tested the screen, didn't find anything, praised my luck ... and had a thrip wandering inside my display. This time it was 3mm. Of course, it could have been my error, and still the same bug, but I think it was a second one. Because I wasn't sure I tried the same procedure, without any lights in the room than the flashlight and a closed door.
A quarter of an hour later I had a thrip with the right size on the same spot in the light, killed it with even more glee (and another toilet paper), tested the screen for a very short time. Open photoshop, new image, white background, a few 100 % size, full window. Nothing.
I sent the mac to sleep, let the flashlight burn, turned on the 'insect stop' (those little darlings could be immune, though), let the door open this time, turned on the light before the door and looked on my Ipad in the internet what one has to do in such a case.
At least in German I didn't read anywhere that you should turn off the monitor. They often recommend to put a light next to the screen and then waiting till those bugs find the way out of the monitor to the light source, somtimes you should put such a lamp under the monitor or whatever (which doesn't seem to be a good idea, the lamps often get hot after awhile and should stay in a vertical position). Some did quite complicated things.
All day through, though, I only used the iMac for checking mails (and looking for bugs with my white picture) and let the 'insect stop' running.
Maybe I just had pure luck but to me it seems a good method to get rid off those beasts very fast. (and now I got almost a heart attack because I saw a very small black spot ... it was part of a letter. Huh).
Anyway, I'm still scanning for those things. The real problem is, those thrips belong to the very few species that still thrive. The biomass of insects went down rapidly in the last years (at least I read that). It's not only the bees that are dying. Only the pests are doing well, except the cockroaches who are the one species that seem to be the exception to Helmut's 'night stand'-theory. The future belongs to them. They are very, very old and probably will stay around til our sun dies. The thrips probably will not live that long, but will be more and more a problem in the next years (not for computer monitors only).
Sorry about the longish post but maybe it helps someone.
Some negative aspects: I'm steadily scanning my screen for moving or unusual spots. It's darn hot in here at the moment. I probably got a few white hairs.
May the gods save you from thrips
Hasdrubal
Positive Side: In the last two hours nothing was seen. I really had a lot of luck (even I did the right things. You still need luck).