A good fence is the only thing that I know of.

Agree, fencing, and even then the deer will try to jump it! It doesn't need to be solid chain mesh but does need to be a good 6 foot in height.

Fence works for my veggie garden but not for the yard. I just need to keep fighting the battle and taking some losses.

I went to buy some venison from the local market. They told me the price, and I said, "I think that's dead deer". They said, "No, it's a reasonable price". LOL.

On a serious note. I have heard that human hair deters them. Have a word with your local barber/hairdresser, I'm sure that they will be only to happy to get rid of it. Apparently lots of different human smells from the hair will deter the deer, so spread it around your property, or hang it in a net and this should do the trick.

Another thing to try is hot pepper spray. They hate the stuff, so spray your plants that they are munching on and that should keep them at bay.

A final thing that you could try is soap flakes. A friend of mine who lives in Scotland was plagued by deer from the nearby forest which annexed his garden and were eating his plants. He told me that he spread soap flakes around the edges of his garden beds and this kept them away.