[citation needed] Mealybug females feed on plant sap, normally in roots or other crevices, and in a few cases the bottoms of stored fruit.

Other species damage sugarcane, grapes, pineapple (Jahn et al. 2003), coffee trees, cassava, ferns, cacti, gardenias, papaya, mulberry, sunflower and orchids.

In India, Withania somnifera plant have been reported as a new reservoir host for an invasive mealybug species Phenacoccus solenopsis.

[4] Some mealybugs of the Hypogeococcus are used as biological pest controls of invasive cacti in South Africa, including Harrisia balansae, H. martinii, and Opuntia cespitosa.

[6] Insecticides such as pyrethroids (e.g. permethrin, bifenthrin, cyfluthrin) have been used for control,[7] but this approach is often considered counter-productive due to mortality of mealybug natural enemies.

Dried mealybugs are ground into a dust, producing a red dye is used to colour fabrics, in artist's paints, and in cosmetics.