I debated putting an electric fence in my front yard/flower garden, as the elk and deer are starting to treat it like their personal grocery store. But I was concerned about having to deal with all the SJW's in our neighborhood. So I went with installing a heat/motion sensor sprinkler. I just installed it over the weekend and the setting let me concentrate that water blast on the garden only, so people walking on sidewalks or the driveway don't get hit in the crossfire. You can control the duration of the sensor blast - I've got mine set for 10 seconds at a time, and you can also hook up a additional sprinklers to come on when it's triggered. It also has a 30 minute watering setting, so functions like a lawn sprinkler as well.
I'm impressed with the controls and how well it works. Even if I'm standing behind it, after a few seconds the sensor picks up my heat signature and comes on.
https://www.orbitonline.com/wildlife-deterrent/