Can I use a mix of soap and water to kill garden pests?

I have a lot of ants and possibly cutworms and other harmful bugs in my small vegtable garden. It is my first year gardening, so I don't have a lot of experience. I have heard you can mix a spoonful of clothing soap into a watering can and water the leaves and soil with that. Does anyone have any experience with that? Does any soap work? Should I just water lightly or a few times over? Thanks!

Can I use a mix of soap and water to kill garden pests?
yes you definately can..and by all means DO NOT use a cup of soap to a gallon of water it will kill your plants within 12 hours..I first heard of this 15 years ago abiout the soap thing..i was misinformed and killed my whole garden...The soap does kill the insects as well..here is A link i found for you all about using soaps..and important to rinse the plants a few hours after spraying..
Reply:Hi, use dish washing Soap, and not Detergent! Spray your plants with that in the early morning. You can also keep Ants away by mixing a tiny bit of molasses, and some raw yeast together. Put that in a bottle cap or piece of cardboard, and lay it on the other side of your yard. The Ants bring it back to the nest,and then eat it. The Yeast makes them Blow -Up! Bye
Reply:Use dishsoap and water. I have been doing this since I was a child in my grandmothers garden.
Reply:When you use dish soap and water, you use a cup of soap to a gallon of water. The insects that pester your plants do not like the taste od the soap and the irritation of them causes them to go elsewhere. It does NOT kill them. I highly reccomend this process, it doesnt harm the plants at all, and you remove the pests from the garden. After every watering or rain, it is wise to reapply the soap on the leaves. Hope this helps, good luck :)