You can have beautiful gardens without killing deer.
Deer are foragers and have preferences for certain plants. Residential landscapes can be designed, managed or modified to not attract deer. Careful plant selection, deer repellents, and fencing offer a host of effective solutions for keeping deer away. Here are just a few resources we've come across that we hope you find as informative as we did:

• Deer-resistant gardening tips contest--winning ideas from gardeners: »tips
• Gardening Tips from the Cary Institute on Gardening with Native Plants and Managing Garden "Pests," including voles, moles and deer (please note: we only recommend the non-lethal methods!) Coming soon
• Strategies for protecting Your Landscape From Deer Browsing from the Cary Institute Coming soon
• Landscape Plants Rated by Deer Resistance, from Rutgers University »plants
• Chart of CT Perennials List Plants by Scientific Name. The chart gives brief information on flowering plants native to Connecticut that make good garden plants. »perennials list from CT Botanical Society

Repellents
There are excellent repellent sprays on the market for existing plants the deer might be nibbling on. Repellents work by reducing the attractiveness and palatability of treated plants to a level lower than that for other available forage. Repellents can be found at most local garden centers and are very effective when applied as directed. Some repellents include:

• Liquid Fence
• Deer Stopper
• BOBBEX Deer Repellent
• Tree Guard
• Deer Out
• Ropel