Hey everyone. I have a balcony garden on the third floor of a small apt. bldg. It's a nicely kept bldg and I've never heard of mice issues here. I've lived here for 10 years, and during that entire time I've had a garden on the balcony, AND I've been putting out bird seed. Only very recently did I notice that ....it seems I have mouse visitors. I've seen at least two mice, together, on the balcony, at night (after I happened to turn the outside light on...)

I DO typically put bird seed out each day (and never had any issues doing so, in the past). However, for the time being I'm refraining from putting out bird seed...or at least, no more putting bird seed out at night, so the birds have seed first thing in the morning. Instead, I wait until the morning light to put out the seed (while the mice are hiding, during the day) and then before dusk I sweep up any remaining seed/hulls (before the mice return).

Is it possible there is a teeny tiny 'mouse den' or something, which they might have burrowed underneath the soil in one of my potted plants? Or did they decide that they simply like 'sleeping' on my balcony at night...perhaps hiding behind one of my planters...because they've come to realize that come the morning, I typically throw bird seed out there?

I noticed that some of my potted plants...the soil in the planters...have some 'holes'. Now it's entirely possibly that some of these holes or recessed areas in the dirt were simply caused by a lot of rain (the potting soil became muddy/uneven). It's also possible that squirrels (who visit my balcony) made these holes. But now I'm paranoid that.... could there be actually mice dens/nests within these holes? I'd hate to trap the parents (just today, I put out some HUMANE mouse traps on my balcony floor) and re-release them in nearby woods, only to later realize they had actual babies living in a den, in one of my potted plants. I don't want the babies to die in there, much less for me to discover 'baby mice corpses' the next time I change the potting soil.

What do you all think the chances are that there could be a den/nest/baby mice in some of my potted plants?

It's interesting that I don't see the mice at all during the day, and today I even cleaned off my entire balcony, moving pots around, etc., and never saw a mouse come out from hiding. If there IS a mouse den/nest inside one of my potted plants (under the soil), is that where the mice would typically hang out for the entire day? Or...is it possible the mice go elsewhere during the day, and then, for whatever reason, come back up to my balcony at nighttime only?

Thanks!