Me again. After some research, looks like we have Io Moth Caterpillars.
Description fits, as I have used gloves to pull off plants, but one spine stuck in my finger and cause burning at site. My husband pulled off with bare hands..was not happy!
Does anyone know more about this caterpillar? Are they common in our area of North Central Tx? We are in Grapevine, close to lake.
Is is possible that eggs were present in organic mulch we bought recently..as pests only on plants with new mulch product? Ideas on how to control/rid of these guys? I plan to remove the remaining mulch, just in case. This mulch was not our usual brand.
Lelani

http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/io_moth.htm

there's dozens of websites with info on the caterpillar and moth