Great question. I remember friends trying everything to keep deer out of their garden, including using little bags of human hair (!!) tied to some of the plants they were trying to protect. Not sure any of it worked.

Haven't tried the bags of hair yet----

don't bother. Deer Out works, expensive spray need to re-apply after rains or every 3 days or so.

Build a house where deer are not common? What if you get rid of the deer only to find you now have a problem with rabbits? Lol.

LOL. Now I also have pocket moles killing everything from below ground. Sigh---

Don't worry, my mom keeps finding new rabbits show up after she humanely traps the ones there, puts them in the car to take a drive while still in their humane traps, and drops them off just outside town where it's still grassy fields and whatnot.

Out here in California the gophers do the rounds in many of the neighborhoods, going from yard to yard as one owner tries to get rid of them, they move on to the next, etc. When they're driven from the backyards they go to the front yards. The drought did have at least one good thing going for it - no more gophers because many people ripped up the lawns and put in native plants or fake grass (astro turf?).

cef'l- we have the pocket gophers here as well. Many trap them with wicked traps but I have found if you keep raking out the dirt mounds they move on. As an added plus I get great soil for the garden! I just put it in a 5 gal bucket and carry to my flower beds. They don't like being disturbed or light in their dugout holes.

I have lived with deer for 25 years. These are plants they never touch. Russian sage, lavender, daffodils, grape hiathian, foxglove, cone flowers, rudbeckia, pinion pine, potentilla, Shasta daisy.

I also share by planting things they can nibble on, but don't destroy. I never have to prune junipers because they have been artistically sculpted by the deer.

If there is a plant I have that I know they will eat I use Liquid Fence. If you spray when the plant first comes up and redo it after a couple rains they stay away. They tend to remember not to go there.

Lavender works as a good barrier plant. If you plant it around another plant that they like it discourages them.

Good luck and remember how lucky you are to be able to live with and enjoy the deer.