You can sew new straps on if you are hard on them. Anyway, I put the Velcro to the outside. Putting them to the outside prevents this but makes it hard to take them on and off especially late into a run when I would cramp trying to turn my leg to deal with them. The strap was replaceable too. I know that my ankles are pretty grimy after any trail run, but gaiters always looked very un-breathable and HOT to me.
Gaiters work pretty well, and for mountain trails with lots of granite dust they're essential.
However, I wish someone would tell me how to keep dust and grit from sneaking in under the forward part of the tongue of the shoe, where the Gaiters don't cover. In the Midwest, I've never needed them. At Vermont last weekend, I didn't have problems, either. My biggest problem with trail debris is not the small stones, but rather the fine dust that makes its way to the underside of my socks. George B. mentioned this in a post yesterday.