A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Plant pests and problems American Daggar Moth

Moved into this house last week and the neighbors tell me that the yellow caterpillars that are crawling on the front of my house and car (not the maple tree) here are poisonous and will destroy my maple tree. I did a little research and found that these are American Daggar Moth (caterpillars). I did not find much else though. Poisonous? Dangerous to my trees? How to control? Natural predetor? Any one know this little critter?

I also have aspen trees that I am told have a bug that gets under the bark and kills them slowly. Only one tree shows that type of damage but the others have what appears to be some type of malady, maybe a blight? Portions of the leaves are turning brown and dropping. The largest protion of the leaf is still green. Any ideas? Can I save my trees? Thanks for any insight!