Hi Valerie. You have a problem that is common to most ferret owners. I think that the first thing we need to do is to heed the advice of Bob Church who has talked about many aspects of the ferret including behaviour. We have to remember that ferrets belong to a family of diggers and therefore have to also keep in mind that behaviours that are natural cannot be stopped. Instead, we try to work with the ferrets by providing them with something to dig in, to alleviate the need to dig at the things we don't want them to... namely carpeting, couches, through the wall and so on. Bob talked about providing substances that make the ferret work at digging. One of his digging boxes was a container of dirt that he packed down while it was wet and then inserted a wooden broom handle in the center. He allowed it to dry rock hard and then removed the broom handle and gave it to the ferrets. The ferrets seeing the hole wanted to know what was further inside and used it as a starting place to get deeper in. This activity provided the ferrets with environmental enrichment, one that lasted for hours. By giving the ferret something to dig in, they have no need to want to dig, just for the sake of digging, in another place. In our house we use children's play sand and wet it down. It makes the sand heavy, but it also gives it a consistency that allows for tunnel building. They love it. And the good thing is that it really works their muscles. Giving ferrets tasks to do along with the regular play stuff, reduces stress, which is great especially if your ferret is caged hours at a time, gives them mental stimulation, which also helps keep them from getting bored, and gives them physical activity that is more strenuous than regular play. Digging is a behaviour that you will not stop and should not even attempt to think that you can. You can cover the carpet with plastic or remove it all together as you have stated, but these measures do not deal with the fact that ferrets dig as naturally as we eat. They will find other things to dig at if you do not provide them with something they can. Work with the behaviour by giving them plenty of activities. Take a look at your local zoo, if you have a good one, for if they are doing their job correctly, you will see ways that the keepers build certain things for the animals to do while they are out and about, instead of just allowing them to sit on the grass looking pretty for the visitors every day. You will see riggings of hanging toys, things to climb (usually trees or tree limbs), containers that are filled with treats that have to be worked out... anything that gets the animal interested enough to explore it, climb on it, or swing from it. Keep this in mind for your ferret and the digging where you don't want it will be alleviated. Good luck! betty and her blur o'fur for the love of ferrets... [Posted in FML issue 4136]