How can I disable a mob spawner without destroying it?

Question

I hear rumors that lava, water, and enough light can all disable spawners if done correctly. However, I can't seem to verify any of this.

In what ways is it possible to disable a mob spawner without destroying it?

Asked by John the Green

Answer

Mob spawners work on the basis of covering a small area (the wiki says it's an area 8 wide, 3 high, and 8 deep) with spawnable locations. If all possible spawnable locations are invalid, it won't spawn anything.

The following things will mark a location as invalid for the purposes of spawning a monster:

• Light level 9 or higher
• A solid block occupying the location (including half slabs and stairs)
• A lava or water block occupying the location

The following are considered valid:

• Air blocks at light level 8 or lower
• Blocks occupied with things that you can walk through (redstone torches, ladders, signs, etc.) at light level 8 or lower

Answered by Mark Trapp

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