Question
I have been finding a white insect on my plants.  The insect is about the size of an ant but it is white and seems to have a tail.  It kind of looks like a sand crab.  I was wondering what it is and if there is anyway to get rid of them.

Answer
Hello Russell,

It sounds like what you have are mealybugs.  You do not want those little critters to get out of control as they can suck the life out of your orchids and plants.  If there are only a few of them, you can try wiping them off with a Q-tip dipped in isopropyl alcohol, be sure to look on the underside of the leaves as that is where they love to hide.  If there are quite a few, the best thing to do is to unpot the plants, clean them up by removing all of the potting media from the roots, drench the entire plant in dilute alcohol (50/50) then repot into fresh potting media.  Be sure to use new pots also.  

Jim Kawasaki
San Jose, Ca.