Bundit Kullayavanijaya shines a flashlight over floodwaters near a housing estate in the Hathairat area, looking for red spots in the water.
Mr Bundit has made many boat trips in the past week, but has yet to find his prey.
He can't detect any crocodile eyes in the water, even with the aid of his flashlight, and Mr Bundit has no idea how many more nights he will have to leave the safety of his home to venture out over the floodwaters in search of them.
At Hathairat, Mr Bundit and his team lay a 100m long net in the water in the hope it will block the path of crocodiles which they believe may have escaped in the area.
They want to catch them before they wash up on some street _ or even in someone's home.
"It's a tiring mission. Catching crocodiles is difficult," said Mr Bundit.
For over a month, Mr Bundit, chief of the Lat Krabang Fishery Inspection Office, has left the paperwork of his office behind, and turned himself into a crocodile hunter.
Since floodwaters from the North arrived in the Central Plains, reports of crocodiles fleeing from farms and private properties have surged, prompting officials from the Fisheries Department to head into the floodwaters in search of them.
They have been able to catch 11 crocodiles.
Since the floods began, some have even surfaced in Bangkok, though no injuries have been reported. Crocodiles caught by fisheries officials are kept at fisheries centres in Chon Butri and Suphan Buri until staff decide what to do with them.
Given the lax regulations which officials admit prevail over the way crocodiles are raised, the public is probably lucky that no one has been bitten by crocodiles hiding in the floodwaters, as officials have no idea how many may be on the loose, or where they may be lying in wait.
Crocodiles are listed as protected wildlife animal under the Wildlife Reservation and Protection Act of 1992, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international law aimed at protecting wildlife and controlling their trade.
Farmers who want to raise crocodiles must ask for a permit from the department. They must have a safe compound, with a wall 1.2m to 1.5m high, mark the crocodiles so they can be identified, and report any changes in the crocodile population.
Those wanting to export crocodiles must also register their farms with the CITES office. About 900 crocodile farms have been registered with the department.
Another 22 large farms have been registered with the CITES office, to export crocodiles. They are raising about 500,000 crocodiles, according to the department's estimate.
Since the flooding hit the Central Plains, the department has received a confirmed report that crocodiles have escaped from at least one farm in Uthai Thani. A tree fell on part of the farm compound, and a wall broke. Crocodiles were able to escape.
The department has also received unconfirmed reports that crocodiles have escaped from several farms in Ayutthaya and Nonthaburi.
The growth of commercial crocodile farming makes it hard for officials to come up with accurate estimates of the number of crocodiles which may be on the loose.
Some owners fail to mark the crocodiles properly, or fail to report new births and deaths.
A senior fisheries official working in commercial crocodile farming and export permit approval admits crocodile farms are inspected irregularly.
''Authority to oversee crocodile farming lies with provincial offices, and we don't have regular inspections. It's mostly up to farm owners to report any changes in their crocodile populations,'' he said.
Many more individuals raise crocodiles as pets. They must comply with the same reporting requirements as big farm owners.
Several of the crocodiles which have escaped in the floods are thought to belong to individual crocodile raisers.
Owners face lax penalties if their crocodiles escape their compounds. They receive warnings and at most may have their permits revoked.
Those found without a permit to raise crocodiles can be jailed up to four years and fined up to 40,000 baht. A crocodile owner whose beast escapes and hurts someone could be charged with a criminal offence.
Fishery officials admit it is difficult to detect illegal crocodile farming. Staff have unconfirmed reports that illegal farms have been established, including some on the outskirts of Bangkok.
About a week ago, officials learned that not only are native crocodiles lurking in the floodwaters, but also foreign animals. In one housing estate in the Ram Intra area, a crocodile rescue team caught a 1 metre-long crocodile of a non-native species in a house.
No laws are in place to regulate the way non-native crocodiles are raised.
Parntep Ratanakorn, a veterinarian who represents the Crocodile Management Association of Thailand, said the escapes of crocodiles during the floods has demonstrated weaknesses in crocodile farming management.
The law and the way it is enforced should be improved to ensure public safety, he said.
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