What is it with the rodents this year? I suppose, at some level, I ought to be glad….they’ve thinned the Siberian Iris for me, very effectively. Not so good though….they’ve also thinned every single other garden bed as far as I can tell. Or at least ones that we can usually let run without interference all summer.
A good acorn crop, a lack of predators, and no rain I suppose? High population that stays high and looks for good, ie fleshy roots/tubers/bulbs, food in soft ground?
Anyone have some extra snakes?
Acair Fearann 
Ahh… but Scripture teaches us that snakes are BAD.
There is some substance to be found in the argument that predator species are alarmingly down this year, and especially over the past decade, due to the heavy use of herbicides and pesticides in countries along migration routes. In fact the reduction in hawk numbers over the past three decades is appalling. So too the mindless application of household chemical products, like weed killers here in the States, also plays a significant role. (Good read: Scott Weidensaul, “Living On The Wind,” 1999)