But then you see just how dirty your floor/house really is, and no one needs that…..
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I bought a 2m square of black boat carpet and put it under my work area. It’s saved me a few times now
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I have had good luck with a bright pocket flashlight shinning around the work area. Sometimes holding it parallel to the floor.
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My wife has walked in several times while on my hands and knees with a flashlight, “ again hu?”……. Yes dear…. Again…
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Look for a bit. Carry on. Then look for something else
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I look for a bit, if I don’t find it in a few minutes, I will scratch build a new part, depending on what my model subject is. I do mostly automotive subjects with some armor, aviation, ships and sci-fi thrown in. The autos I will scratch build as I know that the part is missing and it will bug me. The rest, it doesn’t bother me as much.
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I will search for about a half hour before I give up. Fortunately my floor is painted concrete and light in colour so it is easier to see errant parts. I shine a light along the floor to create a shadow that makes parts (and dirt) easier to see. I also sweep corners and under my workbench with my hand in the hopes I push the missing part to where I can see it. If all is lost, I will look for a replacement in my parts box or I will try my hand at scratchbuilding a replacement. I am too stubborn to give up too easily and I get the shakes thinking I completed a project with a part missing…but that is just me I suspect.
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You are very lucky. I would be on my own searching no matter how much I pleaded for help.
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A few days ago I was in the garage ( that’s where my home made booth is) had some smaller parts in alligator clips, painted them and let them sit there for awhile, when I came back out to collect the parts one had slipped out of the clips and shot who knows where. I swept the bench, swept the floor, moved stuff around and found it in the bottom of the recycling bin I keep by the door. I guess it was good because I cleaned up a bit….
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It always amazes me where stray parts end up. They seem to defy the established rules of physics.
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I use a big flashlight and a close search…..the odd piece never comes back so I ignore it if its not an integral part. Usually they are important , it’s Murphy’s law , so I try and build a replacement
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Small parts: ‘A pound of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’ I have a velcro strip on the bottom of my apron, which attach to velcro on the edge of my workbench. If the part ‘flys’ toward me, befor it hit the floor, it catches in my apron. The front of my workbench is the wall.
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I’ve found them in the Roomba bin before, it’s quite helpful for “Frederick” to find small parts for me 
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My workbench is covered with masonite. I have hardwood flooring underneath my bench. I start on top first, and then move down to the floor. I’ve been very fortunate to find some extremely small parts, simply by just sweeping, the entire area with my hands into a pile.
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I am still looking for the strut of a 1/48 C-47 Skytrain. The thing literally seems to have gone … poof! Most of the time I find a part that escapes from my bench, but that strut is like my whale.
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Nemo did eventually get his whale
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Actually the whale got Nemo 
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One thing I’ve noticed no one has yet admitted is that a messy shop, particularly the floor area that tends to have small bits of sprue clippings, open boxes full of packing material, dust bunnies, etc etc, makes this problem a whole lot worse.
My shop, of course, is neat as a pin and swept clean daily and I NEVER lose tiny parts. 
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I think it’s awesome that you have named it Frederick. Sounds find of fancy, like having a Butler. 
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Are we still talking about that strut, because if so I hope Nemo wasn’t the name of a beloved family pet that choked on it…
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