The tulip poplars are blooming here. Is this what poplar bud oil is made from literally? I’d never try to make it. I was just wondering. They smell good and squirrels are cutting them.

Tulip poplar is not a real poplar. You'll need buds of the balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) or P. candicans, which is the closest species to the Eurasian P. nigra, from which poplar bud oil/balm of Gilead is made here, but it's probably too late to collect them already?

Having the bulk raw material available would make a fine distilled oil or an acceptable tinctured product. The average individual doesn't comprehend the amount of raw bulk material needed to make just 4 oz. of distilled finished oil.

That is why so many depend upon man made essential oils to replace the real material.

Yes, it’s well worth purchasing the oils from a knowledgeable source. We have Balm of Gilead or “Balm Gilly” as we call it, not wild. Those buds sure do smell good for a beaver additive.

The distilled oil or tinctured material would certainly have aromatic value in formulation for beaver, nutria and muskrats. Deer and some rodents find great interest in the bud fragrance as well.

I've made poplar bud oil as a tincture. Made it orginally for spring beaver trapping and found all my shallow front foot sets had muskrat in them. Seems they just love the smell of it.
I use the buds from the cottonwood tree. Last time I filled the crockpot with the sticky buds and topped it off with grapeseed oil. Put the crockpot on low for about a day. Stained it off when it was still hot/warm. Using a sieve first and then a few layers of cheesecloth