Ok, call me a rug newbie... but I had no clue you had to remove the plastic backing from both sides of the pad before putting it underneath your rug. Unfortunately, there weren't any instructions that came with the pad, so I was scratching my head trying to figure out why this pad was getting such good reviews while my rug was slip-sliding all over my carpet. Once I removed the plastic backing from each side, I could see why it works so well... it's super sticky. It sticks to the carpet and it sticks to the area rug, no sliding at all, even when vacuuming with my Dyson. So yes, it works really well, just take the backing off! :)