Barley does this too. I guess he thinks it's grass he's cropping, although it's very short berber carpeting. I do the hand-clapping thing too and it only deters him momentarily. When I'm not downstairs with him, he's confined to an enclosed area in which I have put a cheap rug from Walmart. He doesn't seem too interested in biting at that, fortunately. He has plenty of chew toys, hay, sticks, etc. I suppose you could enclose an area for him and put an old sheet down?