Chipmunk - 1 ::: Dahlias - 0

Can you spot the dahlia in this photo?

She's little...

Here she is -- peeking her head out -- bedraggled though it is...

Dahlias are one of my easy-to-grow plants I recommend for beginners, and so I sadly must admit that this year, this one little dahlia is it.  Barely 2 inches wide and looking sorry, that dahlia is the full count at Bunny Meadows.  Why do I care so much?  Well, Longfield Gardens sent me a heaping handful of dahlias and I was excited to try them out, got them in the ground immediately and was excited when they broke ground.  Too bad the chipmunks though so too.  Well, I assume chipmunks are the culprit, though groundhogs, deer and good 'ol squirrels might be raiding the dahlia bed too.

I tried my organic deterrents including some hot and heavy cayenne...

...annnnnnnnd NO LUCK.  No blooms, no stems even.  That little dahlia at the top?  She was a potted baby dahlia and pots on the porch seem to be too close to the house for creatures, but 3 steps from the front door?  Not a problem for the rascals eating my dahlias.  I will get them -- it is just a matter of HOW and WHEN.  Any advice?  I really do love the tiny little chipmunk family living in the yard this year...just wish they didn't EAT so much!