And try to avoid 'accidentally' pressing Control+Option+Command+1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 with any of the icons selected.
I've only ever seen your reported behavior after changing the monitor resolution, however. So, don't do that, either!
It is generally recognized, of course, that one should keep the Desktop as free of icons as possible. The more you have on there, the harder it is to find something (Icon view is the least efficient method ever created for displaying much over a couple dozen items, IMHO). Every time a
part of the Desktop becomes visible, the OS has to redraw the screen. Plus, it's just
ugly to see a beautiful Desktop image covered with
silly little graphics!