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[RainyDayGal]

Sounds like a mouse. They can crawl back in behind the drawers. You can be the cleanest person on the planet and they'll still come inside.

[curlywhitedog]

If it's a mouse (and it sure does sound like it) don't despair, they find reason to be in clean houses too. I heard about Peppermint oil as a mouse deterrent so I Googled it and this what I found. Good luck, I hope this helps you.

Try peppermint oil. Peppermint oil is a natural deterrent. The smell is simply too intense for rodents and they will not try to go near it. It also helps to mask the scent of any tasty morsels that have been missed when cleaning. You can get peppermint oil in most health food stores and even some major grocery stores. Place a drop or two on a cotton ball. Place the cotton balls in areas where mice are likely to enter your house, by doorways or heat vents, etc. Another helpful deterrent is to grow peppermint plants near the entryways. You can use the mint in cooking as well as it serving a deterrent purpose.

Maria

[Mary Bailey]

I can't imagine a bug just dropping dead like that... I agree it's probably mice.

[Mom2Dogs]

Thanks everyone, you are probably right about the mouse! I cleaned out the dish towel drawer for the 3rd time, I am not putting them back in until I know the mouse is gone. We did put something under the sink...hopefully this will take care of the problem.

I will try the peppermint oil tip and I do have some on hand, thanks!!

[shaggygirl]

I had exactly the same problem a couple of years ago in my kitchen, droppings under the sink and in the drawers. The droppings looked like black rice. After doing a little research I l learned that mice have such flexible bodies they can squeeze themselves into spaces only a quarter of an inch wide. I put a trap under there, the kind that's a box with sticky stuff inside on the bottom so when the little bugger runs into it, it's gets stuck and can't get out. Overnight one got trapped in there. Got rid of him and put another of the same kind in there and forgot about it since we didn't see anymore droppings. Then over a period of time a really bad smell started coming from SOMEWHERE and we couldn't figure it out, thought it might be coming from the sink drain so kept putting baking soda and lemon juice in it hoping to get rid of the smell.......finally took everything out from under the sink, I keep a lot of cleaning supplies under there as well as a small garbage pail thinking someone might have missed the garbage pail and food might be on the cabinet floor causing the odor and saw the mouse box I'd forgotten about so checked that out.......OH LORDY, another one had gotten trapped, who knows when and was decaying. Anyway, no problems since then.

[Bird mama]

I am not trying to gross out the OP. This may help:

[Mom2Dogs]

Ewww, thanks for the visual Bird Mama...I guess I have a mouse. I guess I should be glad it is not a rat!

Shaggy girl what is the 'thing' you used to trap the mouse? Was the mouse inside a box, and I mean really inside so that I don't have to 'see' the mouse but I can throw away the trap and mouse? The cabinet drawer the mouse has been in is on an inside wall....I can't imagine how he can even get in one of the drawers!!

[luvmyteddy4]

On 6/4/2014 momtodogs said:

We do have a bird feeder but it is a bit of a distance from the house. How are they getting in and out of small CLOSED drawers? Our kitchen and family room is one large area and I am diligent about a clean kitchen and we spend most of the time in the family room, you would have thought i would have seen the little bugger running around......I am so afraid of mice!!

A lot of times there is a tiny space behind the drawer that doesn't fit right up against the back cabinet wall. These critters can squeeze into anything. I noticed the neighbors that had bird feeders close to the house were the ones that kept finding mice in their garage and homes.

[JeanLouiseFinch]

We have a wooded area on our property so it's not uncommon for us to get mice from time to time when the weather gets cold. Several years ago, I was about to do a load of laundry (back then we had a machine that filled while the lid was up) and I had it filling while I sorted items for the load. I swore I saw something poke out from underneath the gasket at the top of the tub. But then it was gone in a flash. I saw it again. I told DH and he came in, ran a paint scraper around the rim of the tub until "Mickey" jumped in for a swim. DH held him under until he drowned. I drained the tub, cleaned it, and started over. DH set traps and we caught Minnie and the kids - something like seven in all. Thankfully, they never got up to the kitchen, but I felt really dirty and like I was a bad housekeeper or something.

Another occasion, about a year and a half ago, DS brought home a chair for his room that he picked up at a garage sale. Wouldn't you know, he brought Mickey & Minnie #2 in with the chair. Mickey was running around the hallway and went into the bathroom. We thought we trapped him, but that little stinker flattened his body so small and got out through the opening at the bottom of the door. Then he ran into MY bedroom. DH was gone on a business trip. I refused to stay in there. DS was told to get rid of the chair, so he brought it outside. I set a trap and went downstairs to sleep on the couch. During the night, the trap snapped. DS set one in his room and Minnie met her demise.

We've had cats all our married life, but none of them have been mousers. We're down to our last one. Because we also have a dog, we feed the cat in the utility/laundry room. Recently our oldest DS was getting ready for a move and he and DH were in the crawlspace getting some things out when they discovered a plastic grocery bag with a bunch of loose, dry cat food in it. None of is did that. There were droppings around down there too. We can only imagine that Mickey and Minnie #3, whom we caught last winter, had been busy storing food. There was quite a bit in the bag for a couple of little mice to carry.

That's rural living for ya!

[shaggygirl]

On 6/4/2014 momtodogs said:

Ewww, thanks for the visual Bird Mama...I guess I have a mouse. I guess I should be glad it is not a rat!

Shaggy girl what is the 'thing' you used to trap the mouse? Was the mouse inside a box, and I mean really inside so that I don't have to 'see' the mouse but I can throw away the trap and mouse? The cabinet drawer the mouse has been in is on an inside wall....I can't imagine how he can even get in one of the drawers!!

It's a cardboard box about 6 inches long and 2 inches high & wide. You push in the ends creating an opening (the ends stick to the glue inside) and place them against a wall as that's where the mice tend to run. Unfortunately yes you do have to pick it up and have a look inside to see if you caught one because mice are so light in weight you can't really tell by just lifting it up. Actually I made my husband do that part because I knew I'd scream and drop it and run if I saw one. I still have a few, the box is yellow and has the word 'Victor' in red letters on the top and on the side of it a picture of a mouse. We got them at a Lawn & Garden place. But since my prior post I got to thinking and remembered I also have another kind stashed away here (just in case of a future problem) made by Ortho where you don't have to see it, you bait it with peanut butter and when the mouse is caught a lever moves to an indicator that says 'Mouse Caught' and you just dispose of it. That would work better for you and I wish we had used those but didn't find them until after using the other kind and bought these just to have on hand in case we had a problem again. The full name on the package is Ortho Home Defense Max Kill & Contain Mouse Trap. These were also purchased at a home and garden center. They're made of a plastic material.