Carpet in Basements

I've been wondering if carpet in basements is really such a good idea.  Yes, the fact that it's a large piece of artificial fur with an insulating cushion under it does help with the cold, but it seems like every basement I've ever been in has a dampness problem.

BECAUSE IT'S A BASEMENT.

It's a big cave in the ground.  It doesn't surprise me that there's moisture that's going to seep in.  It doesn't surprise me that the basement smells like must.

What does surprise me is that the carpeted basements I've owned seem to have a far worse bug problem that uncarpeted basements.

All those nasty creepy crawly, moisture-loving nasty bugs...they always seem to be a problem in a carpeted basement, but I don't see them in uncarpeted basements. I don't even see them in the uncarpeted areas of my own basement.

I'm going to guess here, so don't hold me to this, but carpeting creates an artificial set of ground layers that protects the bugs and allows them to grow.  (This is the part where, thinking about how I'm going to be pulling back the carpet in the basement tomorrow, REALLY grosses me out).  The natural predator of these creepy crawlies is a spider.  But you can't build a great web in carpet- it can't traverse the different layers.  So, carpeting does protect the disgusting invaders from being eaten.

In contrast, hard floors, or no flooring at all, does not provide the same protection.  If you have hardwood or laminate, the bugs can be underneath, but I doubt it.  There's no cushiony growing space.  Hard flooring is usually glued to cemented to the ground.  In addition, spiders have NO problem setting up camp against hard flooring.  (If you doubt me, wait a week and go down and count the spider webs).

So, now that I've reasoned that one out, I kind of wish there was a way to build a cage or containment unit for spiders...keep them on staff, but not around me.

ewh!