Police found the home filled with thousands of unread books, pieces of wood, and skins from large fruits and vegetables. The brothers also saved pipes and large automobile parts.
　　Hoarding disorder can have a severe effect on a family. Family members who share a home with a hoarder cannot understand why their loved one keeps so many useless and sometimes dangerous things. It prevents the family from enjoying their home.
　　Experts say the hoarder should make a greater effort to keep the home clean and organized. However, it is not that simple.
　　Randy Frost has studied hoarding. Professor Frost is a psychologist at Smith College in Massachusetts. He says hoarding is more than a mental disorder. He says it is also an issue of public health.
　　Severe health risks can result from saving waste, food or materials that can cause fires. In the United States, hoarding can violate laws that were created to protect public safety and property. Some cities have formed groups to deal with the problems caused by hoarding. Each group usually has representatives from one or more government agencies.
　　Agency officials say they often hear about hoarders from people who live near someone affected with the disorder. Those people no longer want to see broken household equipment or other things lying on property near their homes.
　　Individuals suffering from hoarding disorder do not only collect objects. Some keep a large number of cats, dogs, birds, snakes or other animals. Most animal hoarders believe they are rescuing the animals to care for them. But unlike most pet owners, hoarders do not realize when they have too many animals. They are really doing more harm than good. They may not be able to provide health care for the animals. Some animals may not be washed or fed.
　　Officials have been shocked at the condition of the homes of animal hoarders. Floors were covered with animal wastes. Infectious diseases were a problem. Some animals were found starving, while others had died.
　　Earlier this year, police in California arrested a school teacher for hoarding 400 snakes. The man's neighbors reported that his home had a very bad smell coming from it. When police arrived, they found the home filled with snakes in small plastic containers. Some of the snakes were dead, but others were alive. Other containers also had rats and mice.
　　A few years ago, a grand jury in New York charged a man and his wife with hoarding hundreds of cats. The cats clearly had not received good care. Investigators said some of the animals were missing teeth or eyes. Others were suffering from many insect bites and dehydration -- a lack of needed fluids in the body. The owners were charged with torturing and injuring animals.
　　Americans have shown deep interest in the strange behavior of animal hoarders like the people in New York. Several television stations show reality programs about hoarders. Reality programs present events as they happen, such as the rescue of animals from hoarders' homes.
　　Television cameras capture the sadness of the owners as animal police take away their pets. And the cameras show the struggles of the hoarders and the efforts of people who want to help them.
　　Gregory Chasson is a mental health expert. He teaches at Towson University in Maryland. He says the public's interest in hoarding programs comes from most people's desire to save things.
　　He says that for most people, this simply means behavior like keeping too many papers or having a little clutter. But he says hoarding becomes a mental health problem when it interferes with normal life.
　　Mr. Chasson says hoarding is extremely difficult to treat. He says hoarders are less likely than others to recognize that they have a problem. But he suggests that cognitive-behavioral therapy can help. In this method, hoarders work with an expert to understand why they gather and save so many things.
　　When reasons are found for the hoarding, he says, people can develop a plan for organization. They can learn how to decide what to throw away. They can learn to resist the urge to bring home more things.