So much depends on the individual situation and how habituated/ comfortable the deer are around humans. In places where they are heavily hunted, anything that reminds them of humans (hair, soap odor) will scare them away.
In the suburbs, where they aren't hunted and where people actually feed them, it won't do a thing.
Our solution (very rural, heavy hunting pressure) is our farm dogs. The only crops the deer generally bother is the sweet corn and sonetimes the pumpkins. The dogs herd these odd "cows" out of the garden and chase them to our line fence, where they visibly brush their hands off and say, "there! Put them back where they belong" as the deer bound off across the field and the dogs turn back. (Dogs caught chasing deer are liable to be shot, so it's imperative that you train them to *only* keep them out of the gardens or off your property)
Even a small dog will help if you walk him on the perimeter of the garden (if he'll mark his territory around the garden edge, even better!)
The "territory marking" trick often works... carnivore urine (including that of a meat eating human) sprinkled at strategic intervals around the garden edge and on any paths they take to get to it) really can be effective. You can buy predator urine... folk in very rural areas can just have the male members of the family "mark their territory" directly and personally <grin>. In more populated areas, collecting urine in a more private venue, and then sprinkling it in spots using a watering can or whatever, works.
But yes, the only *foolproof* method is a fence. If a 7 foot tall fence is daunting, consider two electric fences (look at
www.kencovefence.com to see what's available) 3-4 feet apart will work. They sell "electric netting" which cones attached to its own posts. But just a single strand of polywire (or better, polyrope, or the flat tape they sell) will work...as long as you have two, spaced far enough apart the deer are afraid of getting tangled. Heck, deer hunters who plant food plots in the woods for the deer use the single strands of hot polywire to keep deer out until the plants are well established and deer season is imminent.
And DON'T FEED THEM! That means keeping any compost piles covered, especially if you toss old fruit, apple peels, etc into it.
Good luck!
Summerthyme