The pulldown that wawa suggested didnt help and the 220ohm transistor didnt change much aswell.
That is a 220 ohm resistor not a transistor and you will not see any difference except your Arduino will not be damaged. The pull down resistor stops random turning on with the strip powered but the Arduino not. These things should be done whether you see a difference or not.
Now you have a transistor and not a FET then you need that 220R resistor more than ever as without it the Arduino is damaged by having about twice the maximum current taken from it.