If there's one thing about ferrets...it's that they're persistent. If they know there's a way out that's far more interesting and needs exploring they will dig and dig and that's not good news for carpets.

The cheapest and easiest option is to buy a length of carpet protector and cut a section by the door and if needs be, stick it down securely with carpet tape. Not necessarily pretty but practical in the extreme.

It's also handy to place indoor food and water bowls on the protector. Some ferrets just need to dig at the water bowl which means water everywhere - so protect your carpets.

To contain your furry darlings in one room safely, whilst still allowing yourself access we use barriers which are high enough for the ferrets not to be able to jump, but still low enough for us to step over.

We build them out of perspex with a wooden frame which is athestic until it gets kicked and cracks! They need to be at least 2 foot tall and fit securely into a doorway. Our ferrets will batter at them sometimes wanting to go to the other side - if they're not held securely in place they will rattle loudly and you don't want the pesky critters pulling at a corner and squeezing through.

So as you can see, ferrets kept secure in one place, but it doesn't make them happy.

These barriers keep our ferrets secure in our dining room so we still have access from between the hallway to the kitchen.

Between a standard doorway the best option is to drill a hole in either door post and attach a sliding bolt on the barrier. Also add two small vertical strips of wood on either post for the barrier to slide into and so keeping the whole barrier very solidly placed.

On the other doorway the large barrier is held in place with a small right angled bracket on one end and a wooden toggle on the other. It's braced against the door post and the back of the kitchen cabinets making the barrier immovable.

Oh well...back to our old friend - the carpet protector.

Until you've managed to train your ferrets to poo in a particular corner or two it's best to protect all your corners. Even in the ones designated 'poo corner' we still use carpet protector and place the litter pan on top. You will find out that ferrets don't necessarily score high in the direct litter pan hit stakes - just outside seems to score higher. We also put newspaper under the pan when the ferrets are in which makes cleaning up far easier.

Ferrets exercise the ol' grey matter by making us humans work hard to foil their attempts of escape.

By judicious arrangement of the furnitures in our dining room we have spaced out our furniture so that the clever little critters can't climb from one piece to another. Make sure your ferrets can't use your furniture like an SAS training course. Be prepared to take certain pieces of furniture out when the ferrets are in the room. We fold down our dining room table and take out the chairs.

Futons are safer than standard sofas as ferrets can't dig down into the cushions, down through the spring base or up from underneath. When sitting on furniture DOUBLE CHECK that a ferret hasn't hidden behind a cushion or dug down somehow. Flat squashed ferrets aren't pleasant.

Wherever your ferrets roam make sure that there is nothing harmful or edible that has fallen on the floor. That's especially important if you have human kids running around. Do check that there are no bit of rubber or rubbery things around as ferret love to chew and swallow rubber. Unfortunately, this can cause an intestinal blockage and may result in an expensive trip to the vets or even your ferrets death.

• Everything Ferret - Ferret proofing tips
• All About Ferrets - ferret proofing tips