Kitchen drain has a gross smell that comes and goes.. maybe there for a couple of days then unnoticeable for a week or two or month and then comes back. It's nasty. The dishwasher smells like it too. I've had the drain pipe, garburator and dishwasher all checked and no one finds the answer. Could it be in the sewer drain between here and the property line? We don't notice it in the bathroom at the back of the house or upstairs. Just the kitchen, dishwasher and sometimes the laundry room which is the room next to the kitchen.
Please advise.. do I need roto rooter?

Assuming you have either a air gap or a high loop between the drain and the dishwasher, what you describe sounds like a blocked vent pipe. To test, next time you smell the odor pour about a pint of water down the drain, pour slowly. See if odor dissipates.

Has anyone checked to make sure the trap is set up properly on the drain?

The reason that S-shaped or P-shaped section of pipe is there is that it should always hold a little water in it, trapping all the sewer gasses on the other side.

It sounds to me like maybe your trap isn't holding water, and it's letting sewer gas out into your house. Does the smell stop if you run some water? If it does, chances are that's your issue.

On the other hand, if the smell gets worse after consistent regular use, then I would guess you have a leak in the drain line somewhere in the wall or beneath the floor... or possibly the vent line.

As a general rule, avoid chemical drain cleaners, as they can dissolve the pipes along with the clogs.. There are several companies that make 'natural' drain cleaners.. Roebic is one example. The cleaners are bacterial instead of chemical. Live bacteria go into the drain and basically just eat the clog. It takes longer, but you don't ruin your pipes.

Good luck!

Roto Rooter won't help for something like this... neither will caustic or acid drain openers. Vent pipe suggestions seem good to investigate for a permanent fix. We have periodic odors from kitchen sink, disposer and dishwasher too and determined it was from food and grease particle build up. Started using Drain Free Build Up Remover from Wal-Mart on a regular basis. Also bought a granule product direct from the manufacturer of Drain Free (1-800-833-2334) and put a Tablespoon plus a cup of hot water in drain and disposer once a month and that has pretty much cured our odors. To use the granules in dishwasher we use a couple of tablespoons in instead of dish detergent and run the dishwasher from time to time...