You can’t. Pine nuggets are light and they float. And if you have small children and pets, they will exacerbate the problem.

I suppose you could raise your path stones but that makes them more trip-able.

Agree that nuggets were not good choice for step-stone surrounding. If using mulch, need a finer product. Some types of shredded hardwood maybe, or pine barbke mulch ( not nuggets) & just pick out the larger chunks. Point is, any surround needs to settle& pack around the step stones, and however you install the stones, they need to be intentionally a bit higher than the mulch layer you add. So problems will be worse if you have thin stones + chunky mulch.

I get the trip hazard concept but if path had large stone set for stride intending to step ON the stones, and height set not too much higher than surrounding material, I think that’s pretty normal for regular users. Whole ‘nother thing if needing a smooth - surfaced level pathway.

Thank you for the prompt response. I am not able to redo the pine nuggets as my budget is all but tapped now. I was thinking of possibly putting small river rocks around the stepping stones, but feared that might be too clumsy, but then again, not any more than raising the stones.

Googel landscape glue. There are products made to put on your pine to hpld it in place. Have never used it, just seen the products on the web.

Your best bet may be to leave them, rake in place as needed, save up for different mulch , let nuggets break down somewhat and later take up larger ones to use elsewhere ( foundation planting?) and top off with different product. Would not add rocks.
Not sure how much mulch was required but it’s not that expensive.

How often is the path used?

3-4 per day to take out my dogs - they are good and stay on path. This is being primarily caused by my sprinklers which run every day given the new installation.

Eileen - can you provide a picture of what you mean by a fine nugget? Yes, the pine bark is being used to mulch the plants as well. As this landscape was literally just installed, I am in GA and we have 90s every day with no rain, presently everything is being watered daily.

Over time, as they start to break down, they will be more likely to stay put. In the mean time, you just have to sweep.

What Sigrid said.

My daughter put bird netting over her mulch to keep the chickens from scratching it out. Perhaps you could lift your pavers, lay down bird netting, then relay the pavers.