I used to like deer. They seemed harmless enough and graceful to boot. But not any more. Now they are just a pest. They eat the plants and flowers in my garden and leave behind their pesky ticks for my children to unwittingly adopt. Infection rates of Lyme disease have sky rocketed in this part of Nova Scotia in recent years (based on anecdotal evidence and a little bit of internet research) so, in addition to being icky, ticks are also a health menace.
It didn’t take me long to figure out what had been eating all my day lilies this summer. A mama mule deer and her two large offspring have been brazenly hanging out in our garden and the neighbouring field. I caught one of the babies in the act of chowing down on a lily a few weeks ago (mid-August). This was in the middle of the afternoon, approximately 5 metres from our back door. Cheeky monkey!
witches whiskers 
What can be done? Fencing? They are so beautiful, and innocent looking! I expect it was difficult to awaken a sense of danger in the children. Judith
The deer can jump most fences and we have an acre and a half of gardens, so fences are out of the question for us. People here swear by either home-made concoctions or store-bought liquids/powders that repel deer. Often involving wolf pee or bloodmeal or garlic. There’s an interesting website called Deer Departed (www.deer-departed.com) with various recipes that I should probably try.