I’m familiar with both tinctured buds and the straight oil. But I’m not familiar with how good they work in beaver and ‘rat lures. For those of you who make beaver lures, do you add it to territorial lures, food lures or what?

I have never added it to a lure, but I have used it straight when I would run into beavers that seemed to have had some previous education to castor lures. I poured a little on a piece of green wood and used it as a bait. It was very effective.

I've made and used it straight for two years on beaver sets. They kept getting clogged up with rats so I now use it only for rats.
I've used it in small doses with castor and didn't see much of a difference than straight castor

I had one old female that would not approach anything with castor or sac oil. She had dropped a poplar in the pond months ago and I finally got her with a foothold beneath a poplar limb freshened up with fresh poplar bud oil. I felt like a real beaver trapper.

How do you make a poplar bud tincture??

In the spring when the poplar buds get sticky. I harvest them and pack them in the crock pot and cover with a neutral oil like grape seed oil. I let it go on low until the next morning. I then strain it and bottle

Food lure for a.d.c. beaver work.

Are you talking about yellow poplar tree blooms in the spring or something else? I find them on the ground as the fall from the trees. Or actual bud tips?

In my neck of the woods we have giant cottonwood trees lining the banks of the Cattaraugus Crick. In the spring steong winds knock off hundreds of branches laden with the sticky buds of that particular poplar tree. They are easily gathered up in five gallon buckets. Strip the buds from the branches and steep in a neutral oil for a day and strain. That's how i make Balm of Gilead (poplar bud oil).

Thank you. I had a buddy that had a “ balm gilly” tree and the buds were very aromatic. Here in the spring the yellow tulip poplars drop blooms and they are waxy and smell. I wondered about trying that.

I bought some poplar bud oil from a very good lure maker. To me, the odor is VERY mild. Beaver noses are much better than mine so I hope it works.