Creeping Bellflower Campanula EVERYWHERE! HELP!

I did search the forums here and came up with nothing so I'm putting this out there as a cry for help. Anyone been able to get control of this creeping bellflower? In learning that 'weeds' tend to be fixing something that is wrong with the soil, I'm trying to learn what this could be and how I can change my soil to make this plant decide it doesn't need to be there (and by there, I mean everywhere) anymore. We live on a little river, the soil is kinda clay-ey, sand where this plant is having the most fun. It's in the lawn, the flower beds, growing out from the cracks in the stone by the river... surprised to not be seeing it taking root on our metal roof.

I won't use chemicals of course, but lordy! I could really use some help here. Luckily, we just bought this place last summer and haven't even begun to 'fix and build' the earth around the house yet, so all options are on the table at this point in time.

Most of the info I see ends with "a broadleaf herbicide", so here I am asking you folks.

Thank you.

Eat it? http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Campanula+rapunculoides

Other than that, pulling, mulching, and out-competing with dense barrier plants is all I can think of....

It is pretty and the info Tyler posted says it is edible. Why not feature it!

Then where you want something else smother it and plant something else.

If it is in the lawn just mow it and don't worry about. Normally grasses would be
kept lower than that stuff would like. It might be there but somewhat recessive.

I don't have that particular plant but I have dealt with other things in the way
outlined above and got something close to satisfactory.

Some people have mentioned their success using vinegar as an herbicide....

Tyler Ludens wrote:Some people have mentioned their success using vinegar as an herbicide....

My wife uses that on our patio which has pea gravel between stones and in the spring all kinds of stuff comes
up in the cracks. I am satisfied to let the heat kill that stuff off but she is very effective at an immediate kill
spraying vinegar as the sun is heating up.. she puts a double whammy on them.

Vinegar, hmmm? I'll give that a try, thank you! Does she heat the vinegar or just use it cold?

I guess I can't get rid of it everywhere, so I'll take the advice of featuring some (and eating some, too). I'll just try to get the flower heads before they go to seed. I did smother a patch today with thick newspaper and then thick leaves. We'll see how that goes. I'm hoping that following Paul's lawn care of mowing high in addition to an application or two of the Ringers fertilizer this spring can get the lawn a little healthier and more able to out-compete eventually.

Thanks for the tips and info. I'll try the vinegar and post my results.

She just sprays it on. Run a small test. It worked in the situation she used it for which
is different from what you are dealing with. These plants were "unknown whatevers" that
tend to come up in the spring and die off when it gets hot. She just sped up the process
with the vinegar. You are dealing with more than that.

generally if you use a potato fork to lift out the roots of most invasive plants and make sure you rake out any babies and keep at it..you can generally clear a patch pretty quickly, but you may have to edge the area that you clear if the plant has creeping rhizomes (we have problems here with quack grass)

I’m dealing with this beautiful tyrant as well, I just read use white vinegar and table salt(1 gallon vinegar to 1 cup of salt) the salt destroys the roots the vinegar the greens.