Miteology 101 question?

[vabeeguy]

How far can a mite crawl back up once it's fallen through the screened bottom board? I have a flat bed of cider blocks supporting my hives so the gap between the block and screened bottom is only 1 to 2 inchs. Should I only have the blocks on front and back so there's a straight 10 inch drop to the ground?

[Michael Bush]

I don't know for sure, but most sources seem to think they can crawl 1 to 2".  That doesn't mean the gap has to be more than 2" but they don't seem to travel far across the tray.  Of course, once the weather is warm, I'd open the bottom of the SBB up.