Cricket proof your carpet (w/pics)

[Beardednoob]

Edit* LOL fixed my pictures to match the headers :shock:

I had a project today since, Seka had spent a week on paper towels. It was time to put in the reptile carpet. My other 3 enclosures I placed tape around the edge of the carpet to keep the crickets from hiding underneath. This worked for a whole 20 minutes, after the heat starts to get to the tap it looses its effectiveness and starts to loose grip on the carpet. So... I came up with something else VELCRO (to the rescue).
Project took me about 1.5 hours but, for some more savvy folks it can be done faster.
You will need;
Scissors
Roll of adhesive backed Velcro (enough to line the bottom of the tank it is going in) I went with the 15 ft box
Reptile Carpet
***Optional but better****
Needle and thread

First picture shows my cut to fit carpet, Velcro, needles and thread.

Next I cut the Velcro to lengths.

Then peel the backing off the cloth strip and stick it in place.

I also chose to stitch the cloth Velcro pieces to the carpet to give it extra strength.
At first I did some 1/2 inch stitches but, that soon got tiresome and I went the other 3 sides with a zigzag pattern.

Next step was to apply the hook side to the cloth side. This is best done slowly, lining up the strips as it is gonna be your placement in the enclosure.

Remove the backing.

Clean the surface of the enclosure.

Then carefully lay in your carpet. Lining up your sides as your go. After you smash your edges down a bit, Remove the carpet leaving the hook side in place.

Once you have the carpet removed go back over the hook side pressing it firmly in place (sticks well to clean glass).

Decorate and your done.. those little buggers can't resort to hiding under the carpet no more

One of the things I would have done differently is to use a 2 inch hook side and a 3/4 inch cloth side. This way it will have more surface to adhere to the enclosure. 8)

 

[jeritta]

great idea

 

[Beardednoob]

great idea

Thank you, it worked out wonderfully too. If there are any downfalls of it during use I will let everyone know but right now, all the crickets have to stay above the carpet, they cannot get under as well as it hold the carpet flat too. Seka loves it too btw she has been exploring her enclosure a lot more then she used to with paper towel substrate. For when I need to sanitize the carpet I will let everyone know if that holds up too.

 

[nair88]

very cool!

 

[Beardednoob]

Thank you, this is what I am going to do with all my tanks but, like I said I will use the 2 inch hook for the bottom instead, this will give it a greater surface area since the adhesive backing doesn't like to stick to the silicone of the tank. The fabric strip will stay the same width though. I was also thinking about it and the hook side will stick to the carpet itself with out the fabric side, how well hasn't been determined though. :study:

 

[danigurl]

very good idea i've been puttin rocks all around the edges to keep it down.

 

[Dragoon]

I taped my Astroturf down for Ollie too, just, with Scotch tape. :lol:
I cannot stand those annoying crickets chirping away all night for one more day or I will just feed Ollie waxworms!

 

[william212]

BTW, what size is your tank?

I've been looking for a brown mat for my 40 breeder (36x18) with no luck. I can only find green.

 

[Beardednoob]

This was actually done to a 30 gallon.

Might be expensive and I am not sure of how it would hold up but, you may be able to use felt. Anyone know if felt can be used as a substrate?
http://www.thefeltpeople.com/pages/colorcards/durafeltcard.htm

 

[william212]

Interesting idea!

This might be a suitable and inexpensive alternative

http://www.amazon.com/Brown-Acrylic-Felt-Wide-Yard/dp/B001P20Y8U/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1289591263&sr=8-2

 

[jon21388]

i have to do this to stop my dubias from going under my carpet. When i recently cleaned out my tank there was a couple dubias still alive living under the repti-carpet.

 

[Beardednoob]

I have found that just laying in the hook side 2inches Velcro stripping, surround the perimeter and one right through the middle will suffice. This takes a lot less effort, the carpet does attach strongly enough not to use the fabric Velcro stripping. :wink:
Cheaper, less work, still does the same job!