@alilyfan, I live in a suburban area every house on the road has at least a couple of acres of land. All have at least an acre of undeveloped area either on the side or behind the houses. So it would seem they have something to eat without digging up iris.
I thought if someone had it before I could maybe devise something during the winter to avoid it happening again.
Since it seems most think it is deer or at least an above ground critter I am thinking of laying chicken wire. I will report back so if anyone else has this problem in the future it might help them,