Decks, Patios, Porches and Docks - Mice living under concrete steps

Hello, I moved into a new townhouse back in June. The front of my house has a concrete patio with concrete steps. However, the steps seem like they are just a pre-made concrete slab that was dropped off in place in front of the patio. Under the bottom step is nothing but a big gap between the step and the dirt. Because of this, I now have mice living under there.

I was wondering what the best way to tackle this would be. I was thinking about digging up a permiter around the steps and pouring concrete to make some kind of barrier that the mice can't dig out of.

I can post pictures later if you need a better idea.

Thanks.

Welcome to the forums! Mice can dig further than you can pour, so you need to get rid of the mice, not move them around. I prefer to use a product called Safe Kill by Spectre. It kills the mice, but has no second generation poison, like hawks, dogs, children, etc. It only acts on the mice and upsets their ability to take on water. They dry up and die.

Welcome to the forums! Mice can dig further than you can pour, so you need to get rid of the mice, not move them around. I prefer to use a product called Safe Kill by Spectre. It kills the mice, but has no second generation poison, like hawks, dogs, children, etc. It only acts on the mice and upsets their ability to take on water. They dry up and die.



yeah, but what about keeping them out of there in the future? do you think they can move a few feet of 3/4" gravel if I lay it down?

funny your name is chandler, im watching Friends right now hehe

Gravel tends to move and wash out. Cover the entry with a strip of black landscape edging material, hardware cloth, or other material before installing the gravel.

There has to be an attraction for them to return. The mice you have now will be dead. If there is anything attracting them, get rid of it. My wife used to throw scratch feed to our chickens from our deck until the mice started setting up house. Good target practice, though. I used the Safe Kill and quit feeding the chickens and they went away and stayed.

Not necessarily in response to this but steel wool is the best for keeping mice out of small holes around the home, like weepers in block.

Steel wool pads rust. Stainless steel scrubbies are a better option.

I used steel wool in the holes in my barn floor and walls. I finally gave up and now my cat takes care of things.

Mice are persistent and tend to return to a nesting spot. I had a car parked outside that apparently was irresistable to the little critters. I kept taking the blower motor out and taking mom and the babies far into the woods, and she kept bringing all 6 of them back. I finally took the blower out entirely and stuffed cotton with peppermint oil in all the vents as the internet gurus say mice don't like peppermint. Must have worked because I catch nothing in the glue traps I spread in the floorboards. Mothballs worked for moles under my back steps, but the cure is almost worse than the disease.