Neutrophils are crucial for clearing bacterial infections but the mechanisms that regulate their migration to the site of infection are not well understood. Weninger and colleagues now show that perivascular macrophages are important for the recruitment of neutrophils to mouse skin infected with Staphylococcus aureus. Using multiphoton intravital microscopy they showed that the production of neutrophil chemoattractants by perivascular macrophages is responsible for neutrophil migration. Furthermore, the number of neutrophils was higher in mouse skin infected with S. aureus strains lacking the virulence factor α-haemolysin than in mouse skin infected with wild-type S. aureus. This phenomenon was due to α-haemolysin-induced destruction of perivascular macrophages, and indicates another immune evasion strategy of S. aureus. The study describes a previously unknown role for perivascular macrophages in the recruitment of neutrophils.